Runaways
by DJNS
Summary: Tenzin and Lin run away to find Lin's dad and Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka go after them. Companion piece to Tales of Republic City.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. It belongs to Mike and Bryan.**

**A/N: So I'm clearly insane. I start nursing school in two days but I can't stop writing fic *shakes fists at LOK/various fanartists and fic writers*. I blame you!**

**Basically, this is another companion piece to Tales of Republic City. I kept thinking about Tenzin/Lin running away and how Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka would react to that, what adventures would ensue and well...this idea was born. It's a multi-chapter, but I definitely won't be able to update everyday as I have in the past. My plan is to update each Saturday. Hopefully, I can keep up with that and stay sane in the process.**

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**Prologue**

The house was uncommonly quiet. Rather than the knowledge relaxing Katara, however, the silence filled her with a vague sense of unease instead. Her house was _never_ quiet.

On the surface, nothing really seemed amiss. Ever since Kya had married and left home a year earlier, the boys spent most of their time in different pursuits which kept them away from home most days so quiet was a given. That particular day wasn't any different.

Bumi was out in the city with friends, no doubt getting himself neck deep into trouble. Some irate father would likely be dragging him home later that evening. Aang was sequestered away inside his dojo, deep in the avatar state and currently on a meditative journey into the spirit world. Katara anticipated that he would be gone for a few hours so there would be no random pandemonium coming from his end either. And Tenzin, her serious and studious baby boy, had taken his best friend Lin Bei Fong out for a joyride on his beloved sky bison Oogi.

As she put away the leftover remnants from lunch, Katara smiled to herself with that last thought. Under normal circumstances, "joy-riding" and "Tenzin" didn't belong in the same sentence at all but there was something about Lin that reminded Tenzin not to take himself so seriously. Only when he was with Lin did her son truly act like the twelve year old boy he was rather than the forty year old man he believed himself to be. It was a welcome change, but a surprising one as well.

The strong friendship between Tenzin and Lin was difficult to fathom at times. On the surface, much like their parents, Tenzin and Lin seemed to have very little in common. In fact, their interactions sometimes reminded Katara of the friction that had existed between Aang and Toph when they had been that age. Lin was brash and hotheaded, whereas Tenzin was calm and methodical. She tended to lead with her heart. He tended to approach matters logically. Lin was all action while Tenzin was, at his core, a thinker.

On the surface, the two pre-teens seemed like polar opposites. However, Katara recognized that the two had things in common as well. Both were equally intense about their bending, not only proficient with their respective elements, but _gifted_ in their use of them as well. They pushed themselves to be the absolute best and pushed each other too. There was no room for error or personal weakness. Lin could also be ridiculously quick to temper and, depending on the situation, so could Tenzin. That was a legacy that he had inherited from his mother.

Consequently, as a result of their extremely strong personalities, Tenzin and Lin could have some of the most forceful and most volatile disagreements that Katara had ever witnessed. Their blowups were swift and explosive. And yet, just as quickly as discord would flare between them, peace would be reestablished with equal ease and apologies freely dispensed on both sides. No matter what was said or done, it was impossible for either of them to hold a grudge against the other and all sins were eventually forgiven. Still, it was strange to see Tenzin moody and temperamental especially when he was usually so quiet and reserved with his own family.

Katara noted that during his disagreements with Lin, Tenzin never seemed to fall into the usual airbender tactics of evading and avoiding. Lin brought out a different side to him altogether. He could be stubborn and sometimes downright _aggressive_ when it came to her, resolutely standing his ground in the face of Lin's tendency towards bullying. There were times when he acquiesced to her will for the sake of peace, but when the subject pertained to something Tenzin felt strongly about then he refused to back down and, when that happened, it was like watching two goatbulls lock horns.

While mild mannered and longsuffering in all other aspects of his life, Tenzin definitely had a "hot button" when it came to Lin Bei Fong…and she pushed it. Often. Though the realization was fascinating, Katara was still trying to decide if she liked the way Lin managed to get under her son's skin. On the one hand, the eleven and a half year old kept Tenzin grounded and reminded him not to take himself so seriously all the time. On the other hand, she stirred up a passion in him that Katara felt was way too intense and very unlike Tenzin. When in the company of Lin Bei Fong her levelheaded and even-tempered son wasn't so levelheaded or even-tempered. That fact concerned Katara.

Yet, what prickled her with the mild stirrings of worry only seemed to please and amuse her husband. Aang, of course, welcomed the change in Tenzin because one of his longstanding fears had been that Tenzin would lose his childhood too early. Consequently, Aang welcomed Lin's ability to shake the foundation of Tenzin's world and even encouraged it. He also seemed to believe that their son's inconsistent behavior with Lin was indicative of something much greater than a mercurial shift in his personality. Aang was absolutely certain that their twelve year old son was slowly losing his heart to the only daughter of their best friend.

Katara wasn't sure how she felt about _that_ either. Tenzin was still a child. The idea that he was falling in love when he was still so young and still had so very much to experience in life was daunting. It did not thrill Katara in the least. Granted, she wasn't in a position to admonish Tenzin about the subject either considering that Aang had fallen in love with her when he was roughly the same age and she with him when she hadn't been much older.

However, in Katara's mind, her story with Aang had been a rare and special case. The bond between them had been instantaneous and strong and undeniable. Even before she had recognized any romantic feelings for Aang, she had felt an unshakeable connection with him, liked and admired him from the beginning…even before she knew his name. Katara had known immediately upon setting eyes on him that he would change her life…and that she would change his.

There had been an element of destiny, fate and "star-crossed lovers who surmounted all odds against them" to her love story with Aang. But Katara recognized that they were most certainly the exception and not the rule. True soulmates were few and far between. And even with a transcendent love between them that was more powerful than all the cosmic energy in the universe, she and Aang had still endured their share of misunderstandings, fights, tears and sometimes even heartbreak. All of those trials had only been compounded by their youth and inexperience.

That wasn't to say that Katara regretted her choices in life because she did not. If she were given the opportunity to live those years all over again there wasn't a single thing that she would do differently. Loving Aang and spending her life with him was etched into her soul, as vital and necessary to her as water itself.

But Katara understood love wasn't like that for everyone. That was a lesson that she had drilled into her children faithfully because she hadn't wanted them to harbor any unrealistic expectations when it came to romantic relationships. They needed to grasp that, while the feelings between her and their father were real and deep and transcended almost everything imaginable, that kind of love was also inordinately uncommon and not everyone experienced it…not everyone could.

Katara's practicality on the matter was a nice counterbalance to Aang's inherently romantic nature. He believed in soulmate love for everyone because he had never known any other kind of love. Every relationship he'd had in his lifetime, and even the lifetimes he had lived before, had been shaped by love that was continually reborn, something so strong that it renewed itself again and again. Therefore, he was a bit biased in that regard.

As a result, Katara tended to be the grounded realist to Aang's quixotic optimist. They created beautiful harmony that way and thereby instilled in all three of their children the capacity for being both. Of course, there had been some snafus along the way…Kya's first disastrous attempt at a relationship and Bumi's first rejection from his longtime crush, a girl he had been sure he would "love for the rest of his life." Yet in the end she and Aang had been successful in their efforts to create a balance between their children's romantic and reasoning sides.

Kya was now happily married with a newborn daughter. Bumi, on the other hand, while he enjoyed female companionship, wasn't interested in marriage at all. And Tenzin, her precious, steadfast, serious little boy…he was already well on the road to giving away his heart completely to a girl who, in some respects, already claimed large parts of it for her own.

As she polished the interior of her kitchen sink, Katara sighed inwardly with that sobering realization. It's not that she thought that Tenzin falling in love with Lin was the worst prospect in the world. It was that she didn't believe it was the _best_ one. Then again, Katara also recognized that there was little she could do about it if Tenzin was indeed falling for his best friend. The heart could be a very stubborn thing and it wanted what it wanted and she knew that better than anyone. In fact, she and Aang had discussed that very matter just the night before as they had cuddled together in bed.

"_Would it really be such a terrible thing if he was developing real feelings for her?" Aang wondered aloud drowsily, stroking her hair as he did so, "It was bound to happen sometime, sweetie."_

"_Yes, it would be a bad thing. He's twelve," Katara replied, as if that were answer enough._

"_I was twelve when I fell in love with you."_

"_It was different for us," she argued, "There were incredible circumstances that bonded us…inexplicable things that set you and me on a course towards one another. I believe that in very rare instances there are people who have a perfect mate made for them. Someone who is their compliment in every possible way and you are that person for me, Aang. I believe with everything inside of me that I was made to love you."_

_He pressed a lingering kiss to the rumpled hair falling across her temple, his breath escaping him in a contented sigh. "And I was made to love you too."_

"_But it's not like that for everyone," Katara insisted, "and I would hate to see Tenzin jump into that kind of emotional intensity before he's truly ready to deal with it."_

"_Katara, we weren't ready to deal with it either," Aang reminded her softly, "How do you know that Tenzin doesn't feel for Lin what I feel for you?"_

"_I don't know," she admitted, "and I'm not sure that I want to know. It scares me a little, Aang. I still think of him as my baby and I don't think he's ready to be in a relationship much less in love."_

"_I get what you're saying. Soulmates or not, being in love is hard and maintaining love is even harder. And it will always be hard. There's no denying that it takes an incredible amount of work. But we don't get to choose when it happens, Katara, or when we're ready for it. Love happens when it's ready for us."_

_She nuzzled a kiss across his shoulder, her breath escaping her in a small, lamenting sigh. "I know. I know this isn't something I can control. But knowing doesn't make me any less scared for him."_

"_Yeah," Aang agreed, pulling her closer, "it doesn't make me any less scared either."_

Katara recalled that conversation with an anxious frown, made more anxious because Aang had admitted harboring some misgivings as well. It wasn't like him to become alarmed easily so if he was feeling some uneasiness with the situation then perhaps it was time for them to sit Tenzin down for a talk. By now, she and Aang should be experts at the conversation, having had the discussion with both Kya and Bumi in past years. Yet the idea of talking to _Tenzin_ about love and sex and commitment, a young man who had always been so analytical and reasoning about everything, seemed a bit intimidating.

Mellowed further by the mere thought of that prospect, Katara left off in her obsessive scrubbing of her kitchen. Moments later, she found herself drifting down the corridor towards Tenzin's abandoned bedroom, suddenly filled with the inexplicable need to surround herself with her son's presence. Rather than entering his room immediately, however, Katara hovered in the threshold, a faint smile ghosting her lips as she surveyed the tidy, sun dappled interior. It was a sharp contrast to Bumi's den of utter disarray.

Unlike his older brother's bed, which was buried beneath a mountain of clothing, discarded papers, books and general junk, Tenzin's bed was fresh, clean and neatly made. There was no sign of fermenting food, no odd, unpleasant aromas wafting from different corners or suspicious piles, no secret fear that something small, furry and furtive had taken up residence there. Not a single thing was out of place. It was a perfect representation of Tenzin's well-ordered personality.

His clothes were out of sight and tucked away in his polished armoire. Books lined their shelves in straight, color coordinated rows which where alphabetized and arranged by height. Shoes were situated compactly against the wall and not strewn haphazardly across the floor. In fact, it was the room's pristine order that finally alerted Katara to the fact that something was seriously amiss.

Tenzin had three pairs of cloth boots. While he wore one pair, the spare two were always put away in their proper place in the tiny space between his bed and the wall. However, on this particular day, Katara noticed that only one pair was folded alongside the wall while the extra pair was curiously absent.

With narrowed eyes and alarm shivering down her back, Katara entered the room for closer inspection. As she did so, she knocked aside a rolled piece of parchment that had been placed on the small table situated beside the doorway. Well aware that Tenzin had a proper place for _everything_, Katara unrolled the scroll because she knew that if Tenzin had left it out he had meant for her to find it.

As soon as she read "Dear Mom and Dad, please don't be angry…" in Tenzin's neat, even scrawl, Katara knew she wasn't going to be happy. Upon further reading, however, her aggravation gradually gave way to disbelief and dread. She dropped her head forward with a dubious groan.

It seemed that Lin Bei Fong had talked her son into yet another one of her unpredictable adventures. They hadn't taken Oogi for a mere joyride after all. They had run away from home.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: I finished with this part sooner than I thought. I'm still hoping to stick to my weekly schedule though, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter by Saturday. If not, no later than Monday. Thanks for being patient.**

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**Chapter One**

As yet another city retreated into little more than a glimmering speck shrouded beneath a hazy canopy of clouds below them, Tenzin pensively considered why bad ideas were only realized in hindsight. He'd had no misgivings three months prior when Lin first proposed her radical intentions to him. He had shrugged off his concerns when she had reiterated her desire to follow through on the plan when he returned from the South Pole following the birth of his niece. He hadn't even taken a moment to consider the foolishness of their endeavor as he wrote a quick note to his parents asking them not to worry and reassuring them that he and Lin would return in a matter of weeks.

However, now that they were more than six hours outside of Republic City and his mother had very probably discovered his letter and birthed a camelephant in response, Tenzin finally began to ponder the wisdom of their journey. Of course, it was much too late to backtrack now, not only because they were too far away from home but also because Lin already had her heart set. There would be no reasoning with her now. She was determined to find her birth father and there was no force on earth that was going to change her mind.

Truthfully, Tenzin didn't want to _change_ her mind. Lin had harbored a lifelong dream to meet her biological father, to satisfy her curiosity over whether she looked like him, walked like him or had his temperament. She needed to know where she came from. Tenzin could sympathize with that desire to connect with some tangible part of one's genetic history. He felt similarly about the Air Nomads. If, by some miraculous change of circumstance, he were to discover that his people still existed somewhere in the world, there would be nothing that could keep Tenzin from searching for them.

He knew how much it meant to her. He didn't begrudge her the curiosity and desire. That was the very reason he'd agreed to her request to accompany her in the first place. It was a journey that Lin needed to take and Tenzin had been honored that she had wanted to take him with her. Searching for her long lost father wasn't the issue at all. Taking off without informing their parents' of their intentions, however? That was a problem. When he contemplated his mother's possible reaction, Tenzin could barely suppress his shudder of dread.

Lin had insisted that secrecy was their only option. If her mother learned of their plans then they would be dead in the water before they could step foot outside of Republic City. There was no way Toph would agree to a meeting between Lin and her father. Tenzin didn't doubt the veracity of that at all. He had seen with his own eyes how resistant Toph was to the idea.

On several occasions Lin had pleaded for her father's identity, but Toph had consistently refused her and brushed the requests aside. In fact, at times she seemed irritated that Lin even asked her. "Why do you need to know?" Toph would often demand, "Sokka is a better father to you than he ever could have been! Be glad he's not in your life."

To her credit, Lin tried to follow her mother's advice. She tried to be glad. She made every effort to be content with what she had because she did love her mother and Sokka and the makeshift family they had created for themselves. Still, Tenzin knew that Lin couldn't shake the feeling that some vital part of her was missing. She needed to find the answers to her questions or she would never be whole. That yearning to connect with her father was only heightened by the merciless teasing she endured at school.

If their schoolmates weren't callously ridiculing her for having no father at all, they were implying a number of nasty things about the nature of her mother's relationship with his Uncle Sokka. Everyone knew that his uncle was happily married with three children of his own and that his Aunt Suki and Toph were actually the best of friends, but that did nothing to quell the gossip. The rumors had run rampant, everything from Toph Bei Fong being Sokka's secret mistress to Lin being his illegitimate daughter.

The humiliation had been endless. Tenzin had done all he could to shield her from the hatred, but he couldn't be there at all times. Lin had been too ashamed to tell her mother and Sokka what was really going on and so Tenzin had voluntarily taken on the position of protecting her honor. Much like his father, Tenzin didn't have a stomach for fighting, but he would throw an air punch without hesitation on Lin's behalf.

Inevitably then, that had thrust Lin into a position of protecting _him_. Consequently, Lin spent a good deal of their school year in the headmaster's office discussing her propensity towards "violence and "mayhem," as well as the apparently bad influence she had on their school's otherwise model student Tenzin. It wasn't too long before Lin became labeled as a troublemaker but she didn't seem to mind it. If anything, her reputation as a brawler made the students a bit more reluctant to bully her.

It was the resilient strength with which she faced her hardships that incurred Tenzin's everlasting admiration and deep respect. She was barely twelve years old and yet Lin Bei Fong was one of the strongest people he had ever known. No matter what happened to her, no matter who knocked her down, Lin _always_ came back swinging. She was a force to be reckoned with…beautiful, fierce, headstrong, impulsive, brash, mouthy…and wonderful.

To his horror and astonishment, sometime over the past two months, Tenzin had grown ridiculously infatuated with her, not just as his best friend, sparring buddy and partner in crime, but as _a girl_. It was as if he had been wearing blinders and suddenly they had been removed. He saw Lin in an entirely different light now. Whereas once she had irritated him with her headstrong ways, now witnessing her in a fit of rebellion caused strange fluttering in his belly. He liked it. He liked _her_. As if overnight he had become hyperaware of her proximity, her scent…her beauty. That had been a weird development Tenzin hadn't seen coming.

He didn't dare to mention his feelings to Lin, however, and he didn't plan to either. This was _Lin_, after all. He had known her since they both were in diapers. There certainly wasn't any mystery there. In fact, there was actually a time when he would have described his feelings for her as brotherly and protective, so the gradual shift in things did feel a bit gross and unwelcome too.

Being of a practical nature, however, Tenzin considered the situation with a clinical eye. He was nearly twelve and a half years old and he was currently in the throes of puberty. He had already gained a few inches to his height so that he now stood over Lin rather than him being shorter of the two. His voice had begun a noticeable deepening and cracking, a change which had amused his annoying older brother to no end. And, if he squinted really hard, sometimes he could see the faintest growth of peach fuzz on his chin and upper lip. In essence, he was hormonal sludge and Lin was…well, Lin.

She wasn't hideous after all. In fact, now that he was finally starting to notice it was difficult to deny that Lin was ridiculously lovely. He was male, wasn't he? Of course, he would notice. _Any guy_ would notice. So, Tenzin couldn't let himself believe it was a big deal. He was experiencing yet another one of those exasperating life changes that signaled his transition into adulthood. There was absolutely no reason to freak out about it.

And as Tenzin calmly reasoned on these points, he saw no reason to freak Lin out about it either. He had a harmless crush and likely it would be gone in a month or two. Not to mention the fact that, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't important in the least. Presently, Lin was going through some heavy emotional upheaval. She needed someone in whom she could trust in implicitly and, inarguably, that person was him. He didn't want that to change just because he had a brief moment of hormonal stupidity and made her feel awkward.

Consequently, Tenzin resolved anew to keep his feelings to himself and, instead, focused on being the friend that Lin needed him to be. That was the very reason he had so readily agreed to her scheme to find her father. She needed him and he would be there for her…regardless of everything else, even his mother's almighty wrath. However, disappearing for weeks without telling their parents where they were going or _why_ they were going…Tenzin wasn't at all certain about that part. Angering them with their actions was one thing. Worrying them sick was something else entirely.

And he had every indication that they _would_ be gone a few weeks, perhaps even longer than that. It wasn't going to be an easy search. They didn't have much to go on. Lin was armed with little more than an unsent letter that her mother had dictated and hidden away more than a decade before. Other than her father's name and the man's then address, Tenzin and Lin didn't have much to go on at all.

It might have helped if they had been able to gather more information from Toph but, as Lin had pointed out to him several times in the past, they would definitely be barking up the wrong tree there. Seeking out Sokka or his parents would likely yield similar results too because Tenzin well knew that if Toph didn't want them to give Lin the information then they would keep silent. Basically, when all was said and done, they'd really had no choice except to leave the way they did, yet Tenzin still couldn't stop fretting over it. They were headed on this journey with almost nothing to go on. He didn't have high hopes for a good outcome.

"You're having second thoughts about going with me, aren't you?"

Lin's sudden question shook Tenzin from his brooding thoughts and he twisted a blank look at her over his shoulder. She was leaned over the top of Oogi's saddle and peering down at him with a knowing smirk. "Huh? What are you talking about?" Lin rolled her eyes. "What? What's with the face?"

"You know what. Be honest with me."

"I'm not having second thoughts." The denial was incredibly weak. Tenzin knew it. So did Lin. She rolled her eyes yet again, this time so dramatically that Tenzin was surprised they didn't get lodged in her head. He expelled an exasperated grunt before turning his eyes back towards the blazing orange horizon. "Stop it! I told you I'm not having second thoughts," he muttered, "Sheesh. What do you want me to do? Write it in blood?"

"Don't be annoyed with me because you suck at lying," she retorted, "You're up there pouting right now. You only do that when something's really bothering you."

"How would you know if I was pouting?" he demanded huffily, "My back's been to you this whole time!"

Undaunted by his unspoken dismissal, Lin carefully climbed from the saddle and slid down onto Oogi's head so that she was sitting alongside Tenzin. "I know you, okay," she insisted softly, "Stop being a jerk and just tell me. Are you worried about going with me? I won't be mad if you want to go back home." They both knew that wasn't true. She would throw a fit if he bailed on her, _but_…she wouldn't insist that he stay, not if he didn't really want to and they both knew that as well.

For that reason, Tenzin fixed her with an aggravated grimace. "I'm not letting you do this by yourself! Besides, how are you going to get there without me? It will be a long walk to Ba Sing Se without a flying bison."

Not wanting to concede his point or acknowledge his knowing smirk either, Lin crossed her arms with an irritated grunt. "Well, I don't want you to go if you're going to sulk the whole time!"

"I'm not sulking!" He dropped his head forward, his brow furrowed in a small frown. "I'm thinking. There are a lot of variables to consider."

"What are you talking about, Tenzin?"

"The unknowns," Tenzin clarified, "There's so much stuff that could go wrong and…and I don't want you to be hurt."

She scowled at him. "Why would I be hurt? My father didn't stay away because he didn't want me but because _she_ didn't tell him!"

"Maybe she had a reason."

"Not a good one!" Lin snapped back.

"You don't know that. You never asked her," Tenzin pointed out obstinately, "You never talked about it! How are you supposed to fix things if you don't talk, Lin?"

"I don't want to talk to her!" she retorted, "Besides…it's not like she would have told me the truth anyway."

"I know he's your father, Lin, but…we don't know the first thing about him. What if he's not a good person?"

"Do you really think _my mother_ would be with a bad person? Maybe he wasn't what she wanted, but I don't think he was a crook or anything."

"I still don't think we know enough," Tenzin insisted.

"We know his name. We know where he lives. What else is there?"

"So you're just going to show up on his doorstep and say, 'surprise…long lost daughter here?'"

She fidgeted at the question, careful to keep her eyes averted when she mumbled, "I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to say to him. I'll figure it out when I get there."

Tenzin reached over to take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"I need him to…to want me," she confessed in a choked whisper, "I don't know what I'm going to do if he doesn't, Tenzin."

"We can go back if you're not sure, Lin…if you're not ready. It's okay."

She stiffened, withdrawing her fingers from his hold as her green eyes became flinty with resolve. "No, I'm not going back," she told him, "Not until I've seen this through to the end. It's going to work out. It has to."

"Lin, think about it for a minute," Tenzin whispered, rescinding his earlier decision not to attempt to reason with her, "Your mom didn't send that letter for a reason. Maybe we should know the reason why before we go seeking this man out. What if we're making a mistake?"

"You read that letter the same as I did. She wanted him to know about me…but then for whatever reason she chickened out and didn't send it." Lin stubbornly blinked back the hot tears that welled in her eyes. "She never even told me about it! It's _her_ fault that he doesn't know me! It's _her_ fault that I didn't have a normal family! I'm not going to ask her anything! I can't trust her anymore!"

"You don't mean that."

"I _do_ mean it."

The chilly conviction in her tone created a quiver of apprehension down Tenzin's spine. He couldn't imagine ever being in a position where he didn't trust his parents. They were his entire world. He needed to be able to rely on them or else he'd be lost completely. And, on some level, beneath her hurt and anger, he knew Lin had to feel the same. His certainty on the matter had him attempting to advocate on Toph's behalf.

"Lin, you know your mom loves you," he whispered, "She'd never do anything bad to hurt you. Maybe she was trying to protect y—,"

"Don't!" Lin flared sharply, "Don't you dare make excuses for her! You don't know her! She cuts people off, Tenzin! That's what she does! She did it to her own parents, but I'm not going to let her do it with my dad!" Tenzin recoiled in reaction to her fervent outburst, his expression becoming shuttered. Lin nudged him with her shoulder, hoping to smooth over her earlier harshness with him. "I'm not mad at you," she mumbled, "Just…don't try to make what she did okay because it's not."

"Okay."

"This is going to work out, Tenzin. Just relax."

"You keep saying that, but all I can think about is what will be waiting for us when we get back. We're going to be grounded for the rest of our lives."

"Your dad's cool. You'll smooth it over," Lin reassured him.

"I'm not thinking about my dad," Tenzin muttered.

There was a certain irony in that statement. Although his father was the Avatar, a reincarnated spirit with the ability to masterfully command all four elements, and was, inarguably, the most powerful being in the world, it was his _mother_ who inspired cold, quivering fear in Tenzin's heart. _Nothing_ on earth was scarier than his mother in a rage, not even the mighty Avatar.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

Tenzin responded to that with a dubious snort. "Oh, I'm dead. There's no doubt about it. And after she revives me, kills me again and then brings me back again for yet _more_ yelling, I won't be allowed to see daylight again until I'm 45! Bumi's never going to let me live it down."

"Maybe she'll go easy on you." Tenzin favored her with a humorless sideways glower as if to ask, "Do you know _my_ mother?" Lin tried to swallow back her snort of laughter but was unsuccessful. "Okay, she won't go easy on you. But I know she'll be more understanding once she knows why we took off in the first place."

Rather than comforting him, the reassurance caused Tenzin to flush guiltily. The instant Lin saw his reaction, she had to suppress a disbelieving groan for what she _knew_ was coming next. "Actually…she kinda already does know," Tenzin hedged, carefully scooting away in anticipation of Lin's meltdown, "Don't lose your temper, but…I wrote a letter to my parents before we left."

As expected, she exploded. "_You did what?_"

Tenzin cringed as her shout reverberated in his ears. "I had to, Lin!" he flared back defensively, "Do you know how crazy with worry they would have been if I hadn't? I'm not like you! I couldn't do that to them okay!"

"Of all the stupid stunts you could have pulled, Tenzin!" she ranted angrily, "Gah! _Why?_ Why would you do that? You promised me! We had a deal!"

"We never agreed that we would take off without telling them! You came up with that at the last minute!"

"What choice did I have? If your parents knew then so would my mom! Don't you get it? How could you be such an idiot?"

Tenzin set his jaw stubbornly. "You're not going to make me feel bad for telling them. Who knows how long we were going to be gone, Lin? I couldn't do that to them. I couldn't!"

"Then you should have stayed home!" she snapped. An angry beat of silence passed before she demanded, "At least tell me that they don't know where we were going or why we left!"

"I didn't tell them," he answered, but before she could wilt with relief he added, "_but_ that doesn't mean they won't figure out where to look and eventually come after us anyway."

"Great." Lin pinned him with a betrayed glare. "I can't believe you did this to me. You knew how important this was and now you've ruined it," she hissed, scrambling to her feet to climb back into Oogi's saddle in an effort to put as much distance between them as possible. "I'll never forgive you for this, Tenzin."

* * *

As Katara contemplated Aang's serene, gleaming form, she couldn't help but miss the days when her touch alone could pull him out of the avatar state.

After reading Tenzin's letter two more times, as if she expected the words to miraculously change on the page somehow, Katara finally managed to shake off her stupor. Still reeling with shock, her first instinct had been to search Tenzin's room for whatever else he might have taken. For a trip he expected to last weeks, Tenzin had packed relatively light. Other than a few articles of clothing, his glider staff and his sleeping bag, her son had taken very little. That knowledge set up an entirely new wave of anxiety because Katara couldn't be certain if he was even adequately prepared for such a journey.

Did he have enough food? Did he have enough money? Did he know the safe places to bunk down for the night and the places that he should avoid? Did he know the dangers of camping out near the river? The possibilities for disaster were endless.

With all of that churning in Katara's mind, her second instinct, more visceral than the first had been, was to immediately go after the wayward pair. The problem with that was a simple one, however. She had no idea where they had gone or even what direction they had set off in. Tenzin's explanation that "Lin needed to take a necessary and life-changing journey" didn't exactly give Katara a whole lot to go on.

Toph would likely have some idea as to where Tenzin and Lin had gone, but she was still in Republic City and, at the moment, that felt to Katara like it was hundreds of miles away. Aang still didn't know about Tenzin. She didn't want him to return from the spirit world without her there to explain to him what had happened. Unfortunately, Katara could not be in two places at once.

As if the Universe heard her unspoken lament and decided to take pity on her plight, Bumi chose that exact moment to come whistling down the hallway. When he caught a glimpse of his mother in Tenzin's room, he poked his head inside. However, his affable grin slowly collapsed the instant he assimilated Katara's stricken expression. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"Tenzin's gone."

That dire pronouncement left Bumi gasping for air. However, he stamped down his panic enough to ask almost desperately, "You mean he's _gone_ into the city with Lin, right? Right?"

"No. I mean gone period," Katara clarified, "Tenzin and Lin ran away together."

Waves of relief washed through Bumi's body and he melted against the doorframe with a glad cry. "Oh, thank goodness…"

"What do you mean 'thank goodness,' Bumi? Did you know about this?"

"What? No! I don't know anything!" he protested wildly, "It's just the way you were talking a second ago made me think…oh, just forget it! It's not important. Why do you think they ran away?"

"Because your brother left an apology letter, that's why!" Katara flicked the aforementioned crisply for emphasis. "He lays it out plainly in this."

"Wow! Go Tenzin," Bumi commended with a low whistle, "I didn't think the cueball had it in him." However, when he became aware of his mother's narrowed glower, he quickly schooled his features free of admiration and awe. "Er…I mean, how terribly irresponsible of him. He did a bad thing. A very bad thing."

Still scowling at him, Katara said, "I need you to go back into the city and get Toph. Bring her back here to the island. She needs to know what happened. Maybe she'll have some idea about where Lin wanted to go."

"Mom, are you being serious right now?" Bumi balked, "I just got home like ten seconds ago! I'm wiped. I was gonna crash."

"What part of 'your brother has run away from home' is not clicking for you, Bumi?"

"But he's with _Lin_! It's not like it's a national crisis or anything! They probably just went camping or something and they'll be back in a few days. It's not a big deal."

His casual dismissal of the matter had Katara once again directing him with a narrowed glare of suspicion. "What do you know, Bumi? You can tell me on your own or I can 'coax' it out of you. Which is it going to be?"

Bumi threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender before she could begin to stalk him around the bedroom. "Mom, please! Do we really have to resort to threats? Aren't we civilized? What would Father say? Make peace, not war."

"Do you know where they went or not?" Katara enunciated with thinly veiled patience.

"No, I don't know. I figured they must have been cooking something up the way they've had their heads pressed together for the last couple of weeks, but I didn't think it was anything like this. I thought they might be plotting to pull a prank on me or something, but that's it! I swear it!"

Satisfied that he was telling her the unvarnished truth and relaxing somewhat, Katara accepted Bumi's denials with a noncommittal grunt. "Okay, you can get going now," she ordered him, "And bring your Uncle Sokka back with you too."

That had been almost half an hour ago. Since then, Katara had situated herself in front of Aang and was waiting none too patiently for him to rouse from his meditative trance. She was acutely aware of the fact that for every minute she sat idle, Tenzin and Lin got further and further away from them. Katara blew out a shuddering gust of air, growing more and more apprehensive the longer she sat there, all the while regarding her husband's tranquil, glowing form with an intense blue stare.

"Come on, Aang," she willed him in a soft whisper, "I really need you now."

As if he somehow heard her desperate plea, the luminescent light abruptly faded from Aang's tattoos and he opened his eyes. He reacted with a startled smile to find Katara sitting there in front of him. She didn't smile back, however. He knew that could only mean one thing. Aang expelled an unhappy grunt. "What has Bumi done now?"

"It's not Bumi this time," Katara said, passing Tenzin's letter to him, "It's the other one."

Frowning in bewilderment, Aang dutifully took the parchment and began to read, his frown deepening as he did so. When he was finished, he turned the scroll over in his hands as if he expected there to be more, almost in disbelief because there wasn't. "That's it?" he asked Katara, "There's nothing else?"

"No. That's all there is. Apparently, our son thinks that he can simply leave us a letter stating that he'll be gone for a month and that's supposed to be just fine with us," Katara huffed in a sardonic tone, "No biggie, right?"

Aang shook his head, visibly grappling with the reality that his twelve year old son had taken off from home and didn't plan to return for a month or more. "Where are they going?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Aang turned the letter over once more, scanning the contents again in hopes of discovering some previously missed clue. There was none that he could find. He looked at Katara once more. "Does Toph know about this?"

"I sent Bumi into the city to get her. She and Sokka should be here any moment."

Detecting the slight tremble in her words, Aang reached over to capture Katara's hands between his own. "Are you worried?"

"Right now I'm infuriated…and I'm worried," she concluded in an almost inaudible mumble. "Tenzin has never been away from home without us, Aang. This is his first time on his own. I cringe when I think of all the possible trouble he and Lin could inadvertently get themselves into. It's a dangerous world out there and they're just kids. What if something bad happens?"

"Nothing's going to happen. They'll be okay, Katara. We'll find them and they'll be okay." Yet as he made the reassurance, Aang couldn't be entirely certain whether he was making it strictly for Katara's benefit or for his own as well.


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: I'm a day early. Hopefully, that's okay. Until next week.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Wow. I thought I had a few more years before the teenage angst and rebellion kicked in."

It was the first thing Toph could think to say after Aang finished reading Tenzin's letter. Levity was probably the last thing the situation called for, but Toph couldn't help it. She had been beating back a rising tide of anxiety ever since Bumi had informed her that Lin and Tenzin had taken off. Even then, part of her had hoped that Katara was simply blowing things out of proportion as she usually did. Toph hoped, in reality, Lin and Tenzin had gone off on a short adventure together that would last no more than a few days. However, after having listened to Tenzin's letter, she couldn't delude herself any longer. Now she was worried and when she was worried she had a tendency to be flippant.

Aang and Sokka recognized that fact and, therefore, let her comment slide without any sort of rebuke or side eye. Katara, however, frazzled and upset, was pushed to her breaking point and wasn't nearly so gracious or patient. She sprang from her couch to confront Toph.

"So that's all you're going to say about it?" she snapped, "We tell you that our children are missing and you make jokes? How does that help the situation, Toph?"

"Well, what do you want me to do, Katara?" Toph snapped back, "Should I panic? Would it make you feel better if I ran around the room screaming and pulling at my hair? I could do that, but when I'm done with all the theatrics, guess what? Lin and Tenzin will still be gone and we still won't have the slightest idea where they are!"

"You could act like you care!"

"And who says I don't! You don't get to dictate how _I_ react to _my_ child running away, okay!"

Before Katara could snarl back a response to that, Aang stepped between them in the hope of preventing their confrontation from escalating further. "Okay, this isn't helping!" he admonished them both sharply. "Bickering amongst ourselves isn't going to help us find the kids."

"Aang is right," Sokka interjected, speaking for the first time since Katara and Toph began fighting. "Everyone needs to calm down and get a grip. It's not an ideal situation but it's not the end of the world either. Tenzin and Lin are capable kids. I think they can handle staying out of trouble for a day or two. In the meantime, we need to sit down and brainstorm all the possible places they might have gone."

Toph straightened at his phrasing, her irritation with Katara forgotten. "You said 'we,'" she noted in surprise, "Are you planning to come with us to look for them?"

"Tenzin is my nephew and Lin is practically my daughter," Sokka replied, "I love them both. I'm surprised that you would even ask me, Toph."

"But what about Suki and the boys? What about the Council? You can't just pick up and leave everything!"

"I can if you need me," he insisted softly.

Toph shook her head in refusal. "No. I don't want to disrupt your life, Sokka…or Suki's for that matter."

"Suki understands and the Council will survive without me," Sokka reassured her, "Don't worry about it, Toph. It's already taken care of. I've put in a request for an indefinite leave of absence for you, me and Aang since we can't be sure how long it will take us to find the kids. Your first lieutenant is going to fill in as acting chief of police while we're gone and…" he added, directing a meaningful look towards Aang and Katara, "…I've already made arrangements for Bumi to stay with Suki and the boys so you guys don't have to worry about him either."

"Wow, Sokka. You've thought of everything," his sister commended him dryly. Secretly however, Katara was grateful to know that while the rest of them had been too shocked to think rationally about their next move Sokka, on the other hand, had already made all the necessary arrangements.

"You know me, Katara. I always have a plan," he replied, "Now all we have to do is figure out where to start looking for Tenzin and Lin."

Katara emitted a low, dubious snort as she resumed her seat. "Sokka, we have traveled all over the world and there were a lot of places that Tenzin loved," she argued, "They could be anywhere right now!"

"But, according to Tenzin's letter, this journey isn't about him," Sokka replied mildly, "It's about Lin. He's gone with her for support and nothing more. So what we really need to know is exactly what 'life changing journey' was it that _Lin_ felt she had to take."

Following that declaration three pairs of eyes swung around expectantly to Toph. She couldn't see them looking at her but she could feel the penetrating intensity of their stares all the same. Toph stamped down the urge to fidget. "What?" she demanded crossly.

"Lin ran away, Toph," Aang declared in a cautious tone, as if Toph had somehow failed to grasp that reality before that moment, "There had to be some reason why she did. Has there been some trouble between you two? Did you have an argument? Did she give you any indication that she planned to take off like this?"

"Aang, do you think that if I knew she was going to run that we would be standing here having this conversation right now?" Toph huffed.

"I'm just asking you," he sighed.

"No, I don't know why she took off. Yes, she has been a little moody and difficult lately, but she's a pre-teen! When aren't they moody and difficult?"

"Well, you do have a point there…" Sokka mumbled.

"Think, Toph," Katara insisted fervently, "She must have said something to you."

"She hasn't, Katara," Toph replied but then she added in afterthought, "Well…I guess she was in a funk before when you guys went to the South Pole and stayed away so long. She didn't talk too much while you were away. I know she really missed Tenzin."

Sokka came to stand alongside Toph and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, sensing her mounting frustration and confusion and wanting to soothe her in whatever way he could. "Toph's right," he told Katara, "She even had Lin spend a few days with Suki, me and the boys in hopes that being with us would cheer her up. She was really down while you guys were away because she was convinced that you might not come back."

"She has issues with that…" Toph mumbled in a whisper, "You know…abandonment…"

Aang pondered that new bit of information before asking tentatively, "Do you think that's why they ran away? Could they have been concerned that maybe Katara and I might decide to leave Air Temple Island and separate them?"

His brother-in-law snorted in disbelief before Aang had even finished the query. "What are you saying? You think they ran away to be together?" he scoffed dismissively, "Aang, come on! That's ridiculous! They're little kids." However, mere seconds after he made that statement, Sokka spied the furtive, almost imperceptible glance that passed between Katara and Aang. "It _is_ ridiculous, right?"

"What are we talking about right now?" Toph asked.

Yet another look passed between Aang and Katara before Katara reluctantly confessed, "Well…lately Aang and I have noticed some changes in Tenzin and… We think he might have developed some romantic feelings for Lin."

Rather than reacting with shock, Toph's response to that was a short bark of incredulous laughter. "And what, Katara? You think he confessed his crush to her and they ran away to get married or something? Please."

Katara bristled at her jeering tone. "Do you have any better ideas? If so, I'm all ears!"

"Okay," Toph huffed in exasperation, "A few months ago, I did notice a sudden…chill…coming from Lin. It was nothing she'd said or did, but…there was a vibe there that wasn't before."

"A vibe?" Aang echoed blankly, "What kind of vibe?"

"I don't know…like she was mad at me," Toph clarified, "Or resented me or something. I can't explain it, but it was different and it was weird."

Feeling encouraged by that bit of information, vague though it was, Katara pressed for more. "Did something happen to bring it on? Did you two have a disagreement?"

"That's just it. We didn't. At the time, she was struggling with her metalbending and maybe I was a little hard on her…" Toph considered in remembrance, "…but she's never buckled under pressure before. Whenever I push her, Lin always excels. I was only doing what I've always done. I wasn't trying to hurt her."

"Pushing them never works," Katara murmured commiseratively, "That's the quickest way to have them shut down on you. Trust me. I speak from experience."

Toph eased down onto the armrest of a nearby chair and dragged her hand wearily down the length of her face. "I don't think she was holding a grudge about it…at least not one deep enough to make her run away," she considered with a sigh, "We talked about it and everything seemed fine with her. A few weeks later I found out that she'd finally gotten her menses and I figured that's what had her so out of whack."

Sokka concealed his discomfiture with the sudden turn in the conversation behind a series of fitful coughs. "Whoa, is it time for that already?"

Katara made a face at him. "Oh, grow up, Sokka! It's a natural part of life!"

"I have three sons, remember?" he retorted, "This isn't territory I venture into very often, Katara!"

"Be glad, my friend," Aang mumbled with a shudder, "Be very glad."

"None of this is getting us anywhere," Katara sighed impatiently, "We are still no closer to figuring out where our children have gone than we were twenty minutes ago! It's already dark outside. I hate the idea of them camping out in the open in the middle of nowhere with all the wild animals and…" She trailed off into silence with a fearful shudder. "It's not safe for them."

Aang placed his hand against her knee and gave it a squeeze. "Don't work yourself up," he whispered, "We did it and we were fine. Tenzin and Lin will be fine too."

"I don't remember being 'fine,' Aang. I remember being scared for us all the time," Katara confessed in a mumble, "and feeling isolated and helpless and missing my dad. What if Tenzin is scared right now? What if he feels helpless? What if he misses us?"

He dropped a kiss onto her shoulder. "Sweetie, he'll be fine. It's just one night. We'll find them. I promise you."

While Aang did his best to console Katara, Sokka surreptitiously nudged Toph's shoulder as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Hey…" he whispered, careful to keep his tone low so as to not be overheard by Aang and Katara, "There is one possibility we haven't considered yet."

"What's that?" Toph whispered back.

"Well…what if she went to look for _him_?" he asked her in a quiet tone, "You know who I'm talking about."

"That would be nothing more than a wild goose chase for her, Sokka," Toph replied with an unconcerned wave of her hand, "She doesn't know where he lives. She doesn't even know his name. Lin wouldn't know where to start her search much less how to find him. And, if I have anything to say about it and I _do_, that's not going to change anytime soon."

Catching the tail end of their conversation, Aang bounced a questioning glance between Toph and Sokka. "Wait…what are we talking about here?"

"Fathers," Sokka clarified, "Specifically Lin's."

"Don't call him that! He's _not_ her father, Sokka!" Toph flared suddenly, "You and Aang are more of a father to her than he ever could have been! At least you _wanted_ to raise her and love her! Just because he provided the genetic material, it doesn't give him any rights to _my_ daughter!"

"Okay, okay," Sokka replied, throwing up his hands, "I'm just saying…you may think that's he's the scum of the earth, but that doesn't mean that Lin has to feel the same way. You know she's always wanted to meet him, Toph."

"Never gonna happen. Not as long as I'm breathing," she scoffed.

Her heart racing a little faster with the prospect of a lead, Katara leaned forward in her seat, her brow knit in an anxious frown. "But it _is_ possible that she went to look for him?" she pressed.

"No, it's not possible. She wouldn't know where to look for him," Toph reiterated, "_I_ wouldn't know where to look. The last known address I have for the man is somewhere in Ba Sing Se and that was more than a decade ago. He's probably long gone by now."

With the mention of Ba Sing Se, Aang sat up a little straighter in his seat. "Wait a second," he breathed out slowly, "Did you say that Lin's father lives in Ba Sing Se?"

"I don't know if I'd call what he was doing in Ba Sing Se 'living,'" Toph replied in an ironic tone, "but yes…he was there in the city for a time. Why?"

"Because about a week ago, I found Tenzin in his room with maps of Ba Sing Se spread out all over his bed," Aang told her, "When I asked him about it…he said he was doing a project for school. I didn't think anything more about that incident until just now."

Sokka blinked in astonishment. "Wow. I didn't know Tenzin knew how to lie."

Aang and Katara traded an unhappy glance. "Yeah, neither did we," they replied in unison.

"So then we have our lead now," Sokka decided, "We should saddle up and head for Ba Sing Se tonight."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Toph cried before they could begin filing from the living room.

She wasn't yet at a point where she could accept the theory that her child had gone after her deadbeat father. In fact, Toph inwardly balked not only at that idea, but also the prospect of confronting the man again after more than a decade of silence between them. "There is no way in the world that Lin knows where he is!" she argued, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to sway her friends, "We've certainly never talked about it or _him_ at all! In fact, I've never kept a single thing in relation to the man except some stupid letter I had Sokka write for me years ago when I…" She abruptly faltered off into silence as a sudden memory assailed her.

It was crystal clear in her mind. She had intercepted Lin coming out of her bedroom one day some months before. Lin had been fidgety and nervous and when Toph had pressed her about what she had been doing, Lin had confessed to playing around with her metalbending armor. It was something Toph had scolded Lin about many times in the past so she hadn't given the incident much thought beyond a stern lecture and a loss of privileges.

Never had Toph suspected that Lin might have been in her room snooping for clues about her father because she had stopped asking about him years ago. Toph had assumed she was over the matter entirely. Now she wondered if she had been wrong about that…and Lin had somehow found that letter.

Katara watched the color slowly drain from Toph's face. Her earlier irritation with the earthbender vanished in an instant. She whispered Toph's name softly, causing the blind woman to jerk in surprise. "What was in that letter?"

"Nothing bad," Toph uttered after a rough swallow, "I just…I never expected anyone else to see it. I had the bright idea that I would tell him about Lin…about how strong she was and how I wished he could meet her…basically it was the foolish ramblings of a hormonal woman who had a newborn child that scared her to death! I thought he might want to help me raise her…or…or be in her life…or take her off my hands…I don't know I was thinking, except I was so terrified…

"But, that was a long time ago," she murmured quietly, "and it was definitely a bad idea. The only reason I kept that letter all these years was to remind myself never to be so stupid again!"

Aang regarded her with a mournful look, sympathizing with Toph's need to protect her fragile heart even while he couldn't completely fathom closing himself off emotionally in such a brutal manner. "How do you know that you were being foolish if you never sent the letter?" he asked.

"I _did_ send it," Toph countered softly.

Because Aang and Katara were visibly confused by the seeming contradiction, Sokka took it upon himself to clarify matters because he could sense Toph getting upset. "Toph sent the letter, but it came back unopened. She thought maybe she had his address wrong and so I decided to go and look for him on her behalf. We thought…_I_ thought that he needed to know that he had a kid and that she needed him." He flicked a brief glance at Toph before he added in a mumble, "I thought that Toph might need him too."

"So what did he say?" Katara whispered.

"Oh, he practically laughed in Sokka's face," Toph replied, "He'd received the letter. He just didn't care enough to open it and he sent it back. When Sokka told him that he had a daughter, he didn't even ask about her. He said he wasn't 'in the right position' to raise a kid. He all but shoved Lin at Sokka and told him to raise her with his blessing. I was nothing more than a passing fancy for him and he was over it. He didn't want anything to do with me or Lin."

Resonating silence followed that depressing tale and when it was finally broken, Katara was the one to do it. "Why didn't you say anything to us about all this, Toph?" she asked softly, "All these years you let us think that it was just some random guy. Why didn't you tell us that you were in love with him?"

"Whatever was I thinking not to share my humiliation and pain with you and Aang, Katara, especially when you two are drowning in marital bliss? That's not torturous at all." Toph deadpanned, "A thousand pardons, your majesty."

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Katara mumbled with a chagrined blush, "I was only thinking that we might have been able to help you."

Toph sighed. "I know it, Katara. I just…I couldn't talk about it then. I _still _don't like talking about it."

"What about Lin?" Aang asked quietly, "Did you ever tell her any of this?"

"Tell her that her father didn't want her?" Toph snorted in a strident tone, "No, Aang, I never told her! I told her that we broke up before I knew I was pregnant and that we lost touch. I thought about telling her that he was dead, but that seemed too harsh. Didn't want it to come back and bite me?"

"Why not tell her the truth?" Katara wondered.

"Why would I want to?" Toph snorted, "I've been on the receiving end of that and I was _never_ going to let anyone make my kid feel that way! I was trying to protect her the only way I knew how!"

"We know you were, Toph," Aang commiserated, "but sometimes we can't shield our children from heartbreak no matter how hard we try. Some lessons, even the really painful ones, they have to learn on their own."

Toph set her mouth in a stubborn line, two silent tears slipping down her cheeks. "No. I don't accept that."

Sokka gently drew Toph against him in a reassuring hug despite her rigid resistance. Eventually, however, she relaxed and buried her face against his shoulder, her hot, silent tears leaking into the front of his tunic. "I know you hate this," he whispered softly, "I hate it for you, but right now it's a moot point, Toph. Lin has gone after him and we have to deal with that."

"If she finds him…if he hurts her…" Toph choked, "I'll kill him. I swear I'll kill him, Sokka."

He pressed a kiss to her temple. "We can't focus on that right now. All that matters now is finding Lin and Tenzin and bringing both of them home."

* * *

"For crying out loud, Lin! How long are you going to give me the silent treatment?" In answer, Lin flounced past Tenzin with her nose thrust high into the air. He dropped his head forward with a deep groan of consternation. "I suppose that means indefinitely then." Beside him, Oogi emitted a low bellow of commiseration. Tenzin gratefully nuzzled the bison's flank in response. "Thanks, buddy," he murmured, "At least _you_ still like me."

They had flown for another hour shrouded in tense and overwhelming silence before Tenzin could no longer ignore the demands of his own stomach or the regular rumblings of Oogi's as well. With Lin intent on ignoring him, Tenzin had made the executive decision to land them for the evening. Lin hadn't protested as Oogi began his graceful descent from the sky, but as she climbed down from the saddle and slipped down the bison's flank, Tenzin could plainly see from her expression that her mood had only soured further.

He could admit as he glanced around at the dilapidated buildings surrounding them that he probably hadn't chosen the most savory of locales to bed down for the night. Far from the bustling metropolis that was Republic City, the sleepy Earth Kingdom town was little more than a square with a few shops, a saloon and a large watering hole located in the center of what looked to be the town marketplace. As he secured Oogi to a nearby post, Tenzin could tell by the inquisitive stares, pointing and whispers that were being directed their way from milling passerby that these people likely didn't get too many visitors from out of town. Made acutely self-conscious by their avid scrutiny, Tenzin focused so intently on ignoring their curious looks, that he took no note of the small group of men near the saloon entrance who were surveying his bison with avaricious eyes.

Instead his attention was solely focused on Lin's retreating back because it seemed to him as if she meant to continue her journey on foot despite the utter stupidity of such a plan. He jogged up behind her. "Hey!" he cried as he caught up with her, attempting to detain her by catching hold of her arm, "Where are you going?"

Lin jerked from his grasp with a withering look. "Go home, Tenzin!" she spat, "I don't need you anymore. I can make the rest of this journey on my own!"

"What are you going to do?" he challenged, "Walk to Ba Sing Se?"

Her jaw tightened with obstinate resolve. "If I have to…yeah, I will!"

"Come on, Lin," he cajoled, "Don't be this way. You don't have to walk. It's going to be okay."

"No! It's not going to be okay!" she cried, "All my life I have only wanted _one_ thing, Tenzin, and that's to meet my dad! Now I'm so close…I got _so_ close to finally doing that but you had to ruin it all with your big, fat mouth!"

Pushed nearly to the limits of his patience after having endured her surly attitude for more than an hour, Tenzin bit back the angry retort that sprang to his lips and made a concerted effort to remain calm. "It's not ruined. You can still meet him, Lin."

"Actually, I can't still meet him," she seethed, "And do you want to know why I can't? I'll tell you why! Our parents are hot on our trail as we speak, that's why! And they're probably going to catch up with us too. Maybe we would have had a chance if we'd kept on flying, but nooo, you had to la—,"

"Are you actually _mad_ about that too?" he interrupted sharply, furiously, "We couldn't fly all night, Lin! Oogi is exhausted! _I'm _exhausted!"

"Then go home!" she railed at him, "I don't need you slowing me down anyway!"

Hurt flashed in Tenzin's gray eyes at her thoughtless words before they abruptly turned stormy with anger. "You know what? Fine!" he snapped, turning on his heel, "I'm sick of your attitude, Lin! You're on your own!"

It was only when Lin realized that he truly had every intention of leaving her there that reason and regret finally penetrated the haze of anger and frustration that had filled her head. As disappointed as she was in Tenzin and as much as she resented him for jeopardizing her chances of meeting her father, she didn't want him to leave. Because, when everything else was stripped away and laid bare, Lin still couldn't imagine making her journey with anyone besides him…and she didn't want to.

Without thinking, she stomped the ground and drew up a clump of earth before sending it hurtling straight for Tenzin's back. It struck him dead center with a muted thwack. The blow didn't hurt very much, but that fact didn't make Tenzin any less indignant over her sheer gall. Hands clenched into fists, he whipped around to face Lin again with an aggravated growl.

"What's your problem?" he demanded furiously, his features drawn in a deep scowl.

"What's _your_ problem!" she retorted, "You were about to leave me stranded out here in the middle of nowhere! Are you nuts?"

Frustration mounting, Tenzin flung back, "What are you talking about? I was just doing what you asked me to do!"

"Since when do you listen to me when I talk, Tenzin? If you did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation!"

Tenzin groaned and crossed his arms with a sullen pout. Sometimes he simply couldn't keep up with her constant mood shifts and he told her so. "You make me crazy! I can't win with you, can I? If I do what you say, you're angry with me. And if I don't do what you say, you're _still_ angry with me."

"That's right. You can't win with me so stop trying," Lin agreed and then added capriciously, "But that doesn't mean that I want you to go…because I don't."

"That's not what you said two minutes ago," he reminded her.

"I changed my mind."

Momentarily taken aback by the admission, Tenzin eyed her warily. "I thought you said earlier that you couldn't forgive me."

"I never said I'd changed my mind about _that_," she retorted dryly, "But I also know that I can't do this without you, Tenzin. Yeah, I've pictured meeting my dad for a long time, but I've never pictured doing it without you right there with me." Before his smile could fully form over that whispered confession, Lin added, "Besides, you're the one with the flying bison, remember?"

He grimaced at her. "Oh, so you're only saying all of this stuff so that you don't have to walk all the way to Ba Sing Se and not because you've actually forgiven me, is that it?"

Her answering smirk made it abundantly clear it was the latter even while she said, "Exactly."

Though he gave it a mighty effort Tenzin wasn't quite able to bite back his answering smile. "I'm sorry if I screwed things up for you, Lin. That was never what I wanted."

She glanced down at her bare feet and swirled the tip of big her toe in the gravely earth. "You didn't want to worry your parents. I get it."

"I should have said something to you about it right away."

Lin flashed him a brief glare. "Yeah, you should have. But what's done is done now."

Tenzin stubbornly rejected that idea. "It's not done. You're _going_ to meet your father," he told her softly, "I promised you that I would take you to him and I'm going to keep that promise no matter what."

Although, she vacillated for a moment between trusting in his words and cutting her losses, ultimately Lin responded to his declaration with a sad shake of her head. "I appreciate your determination and all, but I don't think we're going to make it, Tenzin. My mother has the instincts of a wolf-hound. She's going to track us down before we ever set foot in Ba Sing Se."

"We _can_ make it. We've got a good head start, I think."

"Which will probably be lost tonight," Lin pointed out. She held up her hand when Tenzin started to argue. "I know you want to fix it, but it's not going to work out. I get why you felt you had to tell your parents something and I'm trying not to be mad about it, but…" she mumbled, "I really wish you hadn't done it."

"What if we only slept for a couple of hours and then continued on?" Tenzin suggested after a pensive moment, "We could get some rest and still have plenty of time left. I know they won't catch up with us. My mom was super busy before we left home. I'm sure she didn't even discover my letter until it was close to getting dark when she was expecting me back. That gives us at least a six hour advantage, Lin. We can still do this."

"But what about Oogi?" Lin argued, "You said he was tired and I don't want to push him."

"We'll feed him, let him catch a couple hours of sleep and I think he'll be fine. Please, Lin," he added when she appeared to be mulling over his offer, "let me fix this for you."

"Okay," she agreed at last, "We'll sleep for a few hours and then we'll fly straight through to Ba Sing Se." She smiled at him, the last remnants of tension and frustration finally fading away. "Thank you, Tenzin."

They decided to make camp just outside of the town limits since Oogi seemed to stir up quite a bit of attention amongst the citizens there because many of them had never seen a live sky bison before. Their curiosity made Tenzin nervous and only when he and Lin found solitude in the dense copse of trees beyond the small settlement did he begin to relax a bit. After making a fire and whipping up a simple dinner for themselves of dried fruit and leechie nuts, Lin and Tenzin scooted into their sleeping bags to catch a few winks. However, it seemed to Tenzin that he had only just closed his eyes when Oogi's constant mewling began to penetrate his senses.

"Quiet down, boy," he mumbled drowsily, shifting onto his side to snuggle deeper beneath the covers, "Five more minutes…I'll feed you in five minutes…promise…"

The reassurance, however, did not seem to assuage Oogi and his whimpering and growling persisted. Very gradually then, Tenzin became aware of other sounds as well…shuffling footsteps, sharp curses uttered in low hissing tones and the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. His senses cleared completely just as he heard, "Keep him quiet, will ya? Shouldn't he be out by now?"

"_I'm trying!_ He's too big," another voice answered.

"So dart him again already!"

"He's already had three as it is! I don't want to kill him! Then what value will he be to us?"

With cold fear gripping him and his countenance drawn in a deep scowl, Tenzin bolted upright the instant the situation dawned on him. Someone was trying to steal Oogi! "Hey!" he cried, throwing out a violent punch of air at the first person he saw, "Get away from my bison!"

As the thief went toppling, a voice shouted out from the darkness, "Hong! The kid's awake! Take care of him now!"

Tenzin barely had time to react with his defensive blast of wind before a protective, earthen shield was suddenly thrown up all around him, effectively blocking the trajectory of the zinging, poisonous dart mere seconds before it would have made contact with his throat.


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: Okay, so this was finished sooner than expected. Helps to have a three day weekend. Go me!**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Tenzin's breath leaked from his lungs in a relieved wheeze as he turned to regard Lin with a look of dazed wonder. "You saved me."

As soon as he uttered the words, Lin's rocky fortress was shaken by incoming fire blasts mixed with rumbling earthen attacks. Recognizing that her shield was seconds from crumbling, Lin said to Tenzin, "You can grovel about it later!" Her wall shattered, leaving them exposed to their attackers from the other side. Lin instinctively threw up several disks of earth to block the flux of flying darts headed towards them. They embedded themselves into chunks of earth with low, ominous thuds. Lin threw Tenzin a desperate look. "Let's get Oogi and get out of here!"

That was task was going to be easier said than done. Oogi had already begun to lose consciousness as a result of the sedation he'd been given. The ten ton bison was little more than dead weight by that point. Furthermore, even if he had been alert his captors now had him trapped beneath a net made of thick, corded rope which would have impeded any escape attempt. The thieves had converged together to form a barrier between Oogi and Tenzin and Lin making it clear that they had no intention of giving up the bison without a fight. Only a few feet away, they had a large wagon waiting for him, obviously their means of transporting him out of there swiftly.

A quick head count told Tenzin that they were outnumbered three to one. As the men raised their arms and readied themselves for assault, he and Lin traded an unspoken look mere seconds before he snagged her wrist. Rings of leaping fire came licking towards them just as Tenzin propelled them out of harm's way on a pillar of air.

Working in tandem with his efforts, Lin quickly opened up a pocket of earth, bending them beneath the surface as the thieves came rushing forward. She and Tenzin found themselves cramped together in the small space, cringing as pounding footfalls and infuriated bellowing sounded above them. "What now?" he cried, "Oogi is completely out of it! How are we supposed to escape when he can't even fly?"

"There's a trick my mom taught me," Lin replied after a second, "I've never tried it on something as big as Oogi before, but it's all we—,"

She never had the opportunity to finish the statement. The ground split open wide, exposing their nestled hiding place. Lin swiftly elevated them up onto a platform of earth before they could be shackled in place by clumps of earth. Meanwhile Tenzin created a windstorm around the base to push their attackers backwards, slowing their advance. Somewhere from within the whipping cacophony he heard someone shout, "Hey, that kid's an airbender!"

As the column came crumbling down beneath their feet and they went crashing back down towards the earth, Lin knew that time was of the essence. Tenzin cushioned their fall on a bed of air and Lin rapidly flicked out several jutting pillars of earth to throw their enemies off balance. While she worked, Tenzin whipped them into a protective cylinder of stiff wind and began rolling them determinedly towards Oogi. Attacks came at them from all sides, a dizzying mixture of fire, earth and tranquilizing darts. Somewhere above the melee they could hear the leader's aggravated bellows that it shouldn't be so hard to subdue a couple of kids.

When they were within mere feet of Oogi, however, the confrontation came to a head. Suddenly, there was a wall of blazing fire hurtling straight towards them. Lin reacted on pure instinct. She shoved Tenzin out of the way and threw up a dome of earth to protect him from the incoming firestorm. Unfortunately, she left her own flank exposed when doing so and received a blistering burn for her trouble.

Tenzin blasted free of his rocky cover just as Lin yelped in pain and collapsed to the ground. He had about two seconds to process her smoking clothing and charred flesh before he exploded with fury. A bubble of fierce, powerful wind began to expand around him with ominous force, preventing any attack from penetrating the whipping currents. With a mighty growl, Tenzin threw out his arms in a scissor motion, jetting forth two powerful slices of air that not only sent the thieves smacking into trees and boulders with bone-cracking force, but completely blew away all remnants of his and Lin's camp.

Once their attackers were left in a groaning heap, Tenzin dropped to his knees to assess the severity of Lin's injuries. She lay curled in the fetal position on her side, her entire frame trembling and her features waxy with pain. Tenzin had barely begun to peel away the charred and tattered remains of her tunic to inspect her wound before a dart, very swiftly and very neatly, landed in the center of his back. He blinked once…twice…as a pervasive lethargy suddenly overwhelmed his senses, leaving his limbs feeling numb and heavy. Within milliseconds he was slumped over Lin's form, completely insensible.

Lin's defensive response was thwarted when she received similar treatment. Just as she brought up her hand to smack the ground and split it in two, a small dart embedded itself in the side of her neck. Already weakened with pain and shock, Lin slumped back to the ground without further sound. In the aftermath, the gang of six, limping and injured, came to stand over the unconscious pair as well as survey the damage that had been done in the brief confrontation.

"What now?" one of the earthbender's asked wearily, "Should we leave them here to sleep it off?"

"Nah," the leader said, "Load them into the wagon along with the bison. We'll take them with us."

"Are you out of your mind?" another cried, "We barely held our own with them the first go round!"

"Not to mention that I'm pretty sure this is the Avatar's kid!" yet another said.

Unperturbed by his comrade's apprehension, the leader nudged Tenzin with the tip of his boot in detached observation. "Good," he grunted as he popped his dislocated shoulder back into place, "Then we should get a really good price for him."

* * *

As he guided Appa gracefully through the night sky, Aang angled Katara with a concerned sideways glance. "You don't have to keep me company if you're tired," he told her softly, "Why don't you join Sokka and Toph up in the saddle and get some sleep?"

Katara emitted a humorless grunt at the suggestion. "I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to."

"Is that because you're too worried about Tenzin?" The question seemed a superfluous one, but Aang had learned long ago to never make assumptions, especially when it came to his wife.

Nonetheless, she nodded. "There's that and…well, I can't shake this feeling I have inside of me that something bad is going to happen."

Much to Katara's relief, Aang didn't immediately dismiss her fears or even attempt to get her to reason on the irrationality of her fear. Instead, he simply asked, "Something bad like what?"

After twisting a careful glance over her shoulder to ensure that there was no one awake to overhear them, Katara leaned close and said in a low whisper, "Well, you know how Lin can be sometimes…"

"You mean headstrong, stubborn and extremely impulsive?" Aang ventured lightly, "Basically, Toph all over again?"

"All of the above," Katara sighed, half amused, half unsettled by his succinct assessment, "And, for some inexplicable reason, our son seems to lose every bit of common sense he has whenever he's with her. I don't get it. Is it a puberty issue? I don't know. I just can't imagine what he was thinking, Aang."

"That he's helping a friend…that he's supporting her when she needs him."

"When you say it like that it sounds so very noble and right," Katara scoffed with a mild hint of sarcasm.

"It _is_ noble and right," Aang insisted.

"And don't forget shortsighted and irresponsible and incredibly stupid as well," she added tartly, "Neither of them took even a moment to consider the chaos they would cause when we inevitably came after them."

Aang pursed his lips in hesitant agreement. "I can't really argue with that."

"I don't begrudge Tenzin supporting Lin. In fact, I'm really proud of him. I only wish that he had been more sensible about it. Why didn't he convince her to go to her mother first? Why didn't he come to us about it?" Katara lamented, "He had plenty of other options besides sneaking off and leaving us a note!"

"It's the unspoken rule of the teenager. We are the parents, Katara," Aang sighed, "and therefore the enemy."

"That sounds a lot like Lin's reasoning, not Tenzin's."

"It's not her fault, sweetie," he argued, "Tenzin may be the ideal child in many respects but he's far from perfect."

"I'm not saying that he is," she replied, "but he's never been like this either. I don't like how moody and secretive he's become lately. He never used to pull stunts like this, Aang. He never used to lie to us."

"And there was a time when the same could be said about Kya and Bumi and that changed over time as well," Aang sighed in response, "I think it's a process that they have to go through in order to establish their own independence. As much as we might hate it, in many respects, it's inevitable. The only thing we can do is to continue to encourage them to be honest with us and emphasize how maintaining that honesty will _help_ them in asserting their independence rather than hinder them."

"I think it's more than Tenzin wanting to assert his independence."

"You're thinking that Lin is a bad influence on him, aren't you?"

Katara surveyed him with a careful glance, detecting the note of disagreement in his tone. "But you don't, do you?"

"As far as I'm concerned, Tenzin is behaving every other boy his age behaves and that is largely due to Lin," Aang said, "Why would I have a problem with that?" After flicking him with a deadpan look, Katara swept her arm through the night sky as if to emphasize the fact that they were presently on a frantic journey across the Earth Kingdom in the middle of the night because Tenzin had suddenly decided to act like a twelve and a half year old boy. Her expression clearly demanded, "Is _this_ not reason enough for you?" With Katara's unspoken point made, Aang ducked his head with a short, self-effacing chuckle.

"Okay, I get what you're saying," he conceded, "but I also don't think you're giving Tenzin enough credit."

"How do you figure that?"

Aang bit back a small smile at the challenge he heard in her tone. "Tenzin knows his own mind and he always has, Katara. So if he's sneaking around now and lying to us then it's because that's what _he_ _wanted to do_ and not because Lin twisted his arm or influenced him in any way."

It was difficult to refute that statement, especially when Tenzin's self-assurance and single-mindedness had been well established before his fourth birthday. His stubborn resolve was legendary. That wasn't surprising given the fact that most of the people who had a strong influence in his life possessed that same kind of intractable will.

"This is just like what happened with Toph," Katara murmured after a quiet few seconds, "Remember…when she ran away with us to teach you earthbending?"

He slumped forward, a little taken aback by the parallel. "Yeah…it's exactly like that, isn't it?"

Katara's countenance also became shuttered as she remarked, "I never imagined that one day we would find ourselves on the other side of the fence with us as the worried parents and our children as the wayward runaways."

"I guess that old proverb is true, isn't it?" Aang considered unhappily, "What goes around really does come around eventually, huh?"

"You think this is our karma?"

Aang shrugged. "I don't know, Katara. Maybe it is. I know that when Toph ran away with us I didn't really give all that much thought to how her leaving might have affected her parents. In my mind, Lao Bei Fong was being unreasonable and controlling and Toph was justified in leaving because she had a calling that was bigger her father, bigger than everything. She was literally destined to be the Avatar's earthbending master.

"Now I'm looking back on that time from the perspective of a 42 year old father," he murmured with a heavy sigh, "and suddenly I see that time through entirely different eyes." He shook his head at the memory. "The Universe certainly has a sense of humor, doesn't it?" Aang grunted somberly.

"Do you regret it then?" Katara wondered, "If you could do it all over, knowing what you know now, would you make a different decision?"

He thought about the question carefully before he attempted to answer. "I'll admit that I regret not encouraging Toph to reach out to her father sooner," he confessed softly, "but I don't regret the fact that she came with us. I don't regret becoming her friend because I can't imagine how our lives would be without her."

"I can't either," Katara whispered, "She drives me crazy, but…she inspires me too."

"And there is a part of me that feels guilty," Aang confided, "I wonder if I had made more of an effort to help her reconcile with her parents if she would have had a better relationship with them in the end, most particularly with her father."

"I think the damage done between Toph and her father was way too extensive…and that happened long before she met us, Aang. Lao Bei Fong didn't really know who Toph was and I'm not sure he _wanted_ to know. He had an image of her in his mind that never existed and it was his unwillingness to let that image go that destroyed whatever relationship he could have had with Toph. That's on him."

"You know she doesn't always make the task of getting to know her easy, Katara."

"No, she doesn't," she agreed, "But we did it. He could have done it too."

"Maybe," Aang sighed in acquiesce, "The point is…in answer to your earlier question, no I don't regret taking her with us. I'm glad we did and I honestly wouldn't change that part at all."

"So then maybe I was wrong to blame Lin for what's been happening with Tenzin lately," Katara considered quietly, "It's not _her_ fault at all." However, before Aang could commend her for that realization, Katara dropped the remainder of her bombshell. "It's _ours_." He glanced at her sharply, frowning at the charge.

"Think about it, Aang," she pressed, circumventing his attempt to argue with her, "_We're_ the ones who filled Tenzin's head with stories of our adventures as children. _We're_ the ones who made it sound like it was some grand old time for us the whole time and perhaps that was a mistake. Maybe we romanticized our experiences too much."

"But it was a _good_ time," Aang emphasized, "The _best_ time of my life. At least that's how I remember it."

"Do you want to know what _I_ remember from that time?" Katara countered in a trembling whisper. When Aang regarded her with an expectant look, she said, "I remember running day after day, week after week because people were hunting us and trying to hurt you. I remember being afraid to fall asleep at night because I was terrified that someone would try to steal you or harm you when my guard was down. I remember when you fell at Ba Sing Se and I thought I had lost you for good…"

His heart aching with her hoarse words, Aang cupped her cheek gently and whispered her name so that she lifted her haunted blue eyes to his. "I never knew you felt this way."

"Because I don't like to remember the bad parts," she told him in a gruff tone, "And the good always, always outweighed that. I only wish we had presented a more balanced picture to the children and the fact that we didn't was a disservice to them, Aang. It _was_ an exciting and amazing time, but it was also terrifying and dangerous and it was more responsibility than a band of _children_ should have carried."

Aang reached down to sweep her hand from her lap and bring it to his lips for a soft kiss. "Sweetie, we aren't in this situation because we were bad parents _or_ because Tenzin and Lin are bad kids," he reassured Katara, dropping Appa's reins to draw her against him, "Lin may willful and impulsive, but she's also brave and strong and loyal to a fault. She's an amazing young lady and we shouldn't lose sight of that. As for Tenzin…we raised him to trust his instincts and to act selflessly on behalf of others. That's exactly what he's doing now. He's being the person we taught him to be."

"I know that everything you're saying is true, Aang," Katara whispered into his shirt, "That's _exactly_ how I felt when I decided to leave the South Pole and go traveling with you around the world. Why do you think I'm so worried about them?"

While Aang whispered soothing words into Katara's hair, just beyond their heads tucked away within the confines of Appa's saddle, Toph rolled away from Sokka's radiating warmth and presented him with her back. She didn't want him to witness the hot tears leaking from the corners of her eyes after having caught small snatches of Katara and Aang's conversation with her keen sense of hearing even over the steady stream of wind.

However, Sokka wasn't fooled by her pretense at sleep. He had been listening to the subtle creaking and clanking of her metalbending armor each time she shifted for the last two hours. He knew she was awake, just as he was. She was worried and very likely beating herself up over tonight's turn of events. For that reason, Sokka exhaled a deep, resonating sigh and reached over to place his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Toph stiffened at both his touch and the question. She shrugged off his hand. "Of course I am," she retorted with blazing sarcasm, "My kid only took off in search of her deadbeat father tonight because I'm a bad mother and she hates me. Why wouldn't everything be peachy?"

"She doesn't hate you, Toph," Sokka refuted, "And you're not a bad mother. Stop saying things like that!"

"I think Aang and Katara would disagree with you. They're up there talking right now," she told him, "They think that it's Lin's fault that Tenzin ran away because she's a bad kid and I'm a bad mother!"

Sokka blinked at her back in speechless surprise before shaking his head in dismissal of that ludicrous theory. "Nah. You must have misunderstood what they were saying, Toph. That doesn't even _sound_ like them. I know you have supersonic hearing and everything, but maybe you missed part of the conversation due to all the wind. It's okay to have an off day once in a while."

"I'm not having an 'off day,' Sokka, and I didn't misunderstand anything. Aang and Katara have the good kid. I'm the one with the problem child," she muttered, "Like mother, like daughter, right?"

Still, Sokka was resistant to the idea. "Look, obviously something else is going on here," he considered, shifting upright, "Maybe if we just asked them—,"

Toph shot out her hand to capture his wrist before he could make a move. "Don't!" she hissed in a low tone, "Don't do that. I don't want to talk about it. Besides that, I'm not angry. They're entitled to the way they feel. And really…are they wrong? Their son is gone and it's because of _my_ daughter…because of _me_."

"Well, if that's what they think then obviously their anxiety over the situation is clouding their judgment and they need to be set straight!"

When he tried to shift upright again, Toph once again detained him. "Please, don't go up there, Sokka," she implored. She could feel the tension emanating from the taut lines of his body before he finally relaxed. Satisfied, Toph dropped his wrist and wilted back into the saddle, her sightless eyes fixed above. "When you think about it…are Aang and Katara really wrong?" she challenged, "You can't deny that Lin gets Tenzin into plenty of trouble. She shakes him up…kind of like how I shook up you guys when we met."

Sokka stretched out alongside her, propping himself up onto his elbow so that he could peer down at her. "And that's supposed to be a bad thing? Besides that, my nephew could use a bit of shaking up every now and then."

"Aang and Katara don't seem to think so," Toph considered softly, "I don't know if I would feel very differently if I were in their shoes."

"If you're expecting me to agree with this idea that Lin is a bad kid and that somehow you're a bad mother because of it then you're going to have a long wait, Toph. I don't believe any of that and I don't think Aang and Katara believe it either."

"Maybe they do."

"Nope. Not buying it."

Toph emitted a small, dubious snort under her breath at his obstinate refusal. "Come on, Sokka. It's just the two of us here right now. You can admit it. I _suck _as a parent and I always have. Tenzin isn't the one who ran away from home. He tagged along probably because Lin asked him to go. _She's_ the one who ran away. She ran away from _me_. My own kid can't stand to be near me."

"You know that it's more complicated than that, Toph."

"No, it's very simple," she argued, "She couldn't wait to get away from me. I'm so inadequate that she would rather go off and find a man who has never gave her a second thought than stay with me! I screwed up, Sokka!"

"No, you didn't. Stop doing this to yourself!"

However, Toph plowed on as if he hadn't said anything at all. "And it's not like I didn't _know_ that I was going to be bad at it from the very beginning. You, Aang and Katara did your cheerleader thing, but I knew I was going to be a nightmare. I knew I was going to blow it somehow. The entire idea of me as a mother is _still_ ludicrous to me even after twelve years! If it weren't for you three, Lin probably would have taken off long before this. Somehow…" she choked in conclusion, swallowing back her tears, "…in spite of everything I did, I managed to become my father anyway."

"That's not true! You are _nothing_ like your father! Why are you blaming yourself this way?"

"A better question would be why aren't _you_ blaming me?"

Sokka frowned at her. "What are you talking about? What do I have to blame you for?"

"I'm not oblivious, Sokka! Are you really going to pretend like I haven't upset your life this past decade? I've failed Lin and I've failed you too."

"What are…you haven't failed me!" he sputtered, "Toph, where is this coming from?"

"Where are you right now?"

Puzzled by the question, especially because it had so little to do with the subject at hand, Sokka shifted around slightly to tip a glance out over the edge of Appa's saddle before regarding her again. "Somewhere over the Earth Kingdom," he answered sardonically, "Am I supposed to give you exact coordinates because my internal navigation system is on the fritz at the moment?"

His dripping sarcasm was met with Toph's exasperated grunt. "The point I'm trying to make here," she persevered, "is that you should be at home with your _wife_ right now. You should be with your _sons_. But, instead you're right here with me yet again, helping me fix another mess."

"Where else would I be? We're friends. And I love Lin. I'm not complaining, Toph."

"But I _am_," she retorted softly, "As much as I like to pretend otherwise, you're not her father, Sokka. I guess I've never thought about how unfair it was to thrust you into that role…and how unfair it was to Suki."

Sokka fidgeted uncomfortably. "Why are you bringing Suki into this?"

"Because she's your wife," Toph whispered, "and she's _my_ friend and in twelve years she's never once complained about…about this weird dynamic we have between us. I'm practically your second wife!"

The comparison was succinct and irrefutable and because Suki had expressed similar sentiments in years past, Sokka wasn't sure whether to laugh or choke back a sound of horror. Consequently, he emitted a snort that was a mixture of both. "It's…it's not a 'weird dynamic,'" he sputtered in argument, "We've been friends for two decades! You're my family and Suki knows that."

"Sokka, I know you aren't this thick! I'm not denying that Suki is a remarkable and patient woman! She married you, didn't she? But she's still human. You've been helping me raise my kid practically since the moment she was born," Toph pointed out, "In almost every way that counts, you _are_ Lin's father. But I've never once asked Suki how she felt about that. I've never asked you."

In the beginning of her pregnancy, Toph had been extremely cognizant of disrupting, not only his life with the unexpected change in her personal affairs, but Aang and Katara's as well. During her pregnancy she had tried to burden her friends as little as possible. In her mind, it was _her_ mess and _her_ mistake and she had to be the one to deal with it. Even on the night of Lin's delivery, Toph had only called for Katara because the waterbender had insisted on serving as her midwife. But she had sent for no one else. For the most part, Toph had been determined to do it all on her own.

However, the reality of a newborn was something entirely different from what Toph had imagined and, very quickly, she found herself drowning in her new duties as a parent. Lin's needs had been seemingly endless and, at her most desperate, there were times when Toph would simply squeeze herself into a corner and cover her ears while the newborn screamed and screamed and screamed. She didn't know what she would have done if Sokka hadn't chosen to swoop to the rescue when he did. He, and Katara to a lesser degree, had been the ones to help her establish a routine on how to feed and care for her infant. She had been relying on Sokka heavily ever since but only now was Toph beginning to wonder if she had been relying on him too much.

As if he could somehow read her troubled thoughts, Sokka answered her softly, "No, Toph, you haven't. You never _had_ to ask me to be here. I wanted to and I still want to."

"And what about Suki? What does she want?"

"She gets it."

Despite his reassurance, she detected the quiver in his voice. Even without the vibrations of the earth beneath her, Toph could sense when he was lying. Years of experience and proximity had afforded her with the ability to read him easily. "But she hasn't always, has she?"

"No. It was…tough at first," he confessed hesitantly, "We had a new family of our own and I was already so busy on the Republic City council. She _did_ feel excluded in the beginning and she questioned my motives. We fought about it sometimes."

"You fought about me?" Toph rasped in a mortified tone.

"Not you precisely, but the situation," Sokka explained quickly, "She was frustrated because she felt like all the responsibility for helping you with the baby was falling on my shoulders. She didn't get why Aang and Katara couldn't help out more with you."

"Wow. Sorry to hear I was such a burden on everyone's lives," Toph mumbled.

"Hey, don't be like that! Remember that this was almost thirteen years ago and you asked okay!" Sokka retorted sharply, "Besides, I'm not saying that you were a burden, Toph! I'm just telling you how Suki felt about the whole thing. It was a crazy time. She was ticked off at everyone back then, not just you and me."

"Because I was monopolizing too much of your time," Toph concluded soberly.

"She understood that you needed help. She didn't resent that," he reassured her, "What she resented was the fact that I was the only one giving you any, at least from her perspective. But once she had a clearer view of the circumstances then she was more understanding about everything."

"And what circumstances were those exactly?" Toph snorted, feeling her own resentment and anger mount, "Was it because poor blind Toph was such an amazingly awful mother that she needed all the help big, strong Sokka could give her? Give me a break!"

"No, it was because Katara was in such a crazy place after the miscarriage that she and Aang _couldn't_ help," Sokka clarified softly, "Their marriage was rocky. They were rocky. It was a really bad time for them."

In an instant Toph's antipathy dissipated. She rose up onto her elbows. "Miscarriage?" she echoed, "What are you saying? Katara had a miscarriage?"

Sokka suppressed a self-deprecating groan, but face-palmed nonetheless. "You mean you didn't know about it?"

"Do I _sound_ like I knew about it?" Toph demanded crossly, "When did it happen?" He hesitated to answer and so, in her impatience, she punched him in the shoulder. "_When?_"

He rubbed at his throbbing bicep before revealing rather reluctantly, "It was the night Lin was born. Katara wasn't that far along when it happened."

"Did it happen after she left me that night?" Sokka didn't answer, but his hitching breath was answer enough for Toph. "So it happened before then," she concluded in a hollow voice, "She had it before and then she came over to help me deliver my baby. She never said a word that night."

"She wouldn't," Sokka replied softly, "You know how Katara can be…she tries to be strong for everyone else, even when she's in agony herself."

Somehow the revelation was shocking and not so shocking after all. She had known that night that something was off with Katara, but she had been too preoccupied with her own fear and her own pain to question her friend about it. And yet, even long after that day Toph had sensed an ever present sadness in Katara, a sorrow that became especially pronounced each year around Lin's birthday. Now she understood why. Overwhelmed with guilt and regret, Toph slowly sank back against the saddle.

"Toph, it was twelve years ago," Sokka reassured her, "Katara's okay now. Everything is okay…with her and Aang and me and Suki. Please don't feel bad. Every marriage hits a rough patch. None of it was your fault. It was all circumstance."

"You see this is exactly why I knew having a baby was going to be a disaster for me," Toph muttered, more to herself than to Sokka, "Look at the mess I've made without even half trying. I've screwed up Lin's life and I screwed up all of your lives too. I'm sorry for that, Sokka. I really am."

"Stop it. You didn't screw up our lives, Toph. _You didn't_."

"Oh really?" she scoffed humorlessly, shifting onto her side to once again presenting Sokka with her back, "Then why does it feel like it?"


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Toph's total emotional reservation after their revealing talk the previous night wasn't entirely unexpected, but it still aggravated Sokka nonetheless. She was noticeably withdrawn the following morning when they touched down for a quick breakfast and wash-up. However, while Aang and Katara chalked the reticent shift in her mood up to worry over Lin and exhaustion, Sokka knew better. Unfortunately, every effort he made to corner her into talking about her feelings had been firmly rebuffed. Finally, Sokka had been left with no choice except to back off. While he wanted to help her, he knew that Toph was going to have to come to terms with the situation on her own.

Upon reaching Ba Sing Se a few hours later, they decided to make their first stop Kuei's palace in order to secure Appa, cool him down and also bring the king up to speed on what had brought them to his kingdom in the first place. Because the four well-worn travelers looked as if they were going to keel over from lack of sleep at any given moment, the Earth King had kindly offered them room and board during their stay but the group had graciously refused his offer. They didn't anticipate lingering in Ba Sing Se any longer than was needed to locate their children. Despite that, he had given them use of his conference room for privacy while they strategized their next move.

Yet, when it came time for them to leave and head over to the middle ring of the kingdom in search of Toph's ex-boyfriend, the earthbender blindsided her friends by insisting that she after the children alone. Sokka had prepared himself for the possibility that she'd want to go alone and so he didn't argue. Aang and Katara, however, were understandably resistant to the idea. As a result, Toph's idea was met with their indignant protests, most loudly from Katara.

"I don't like that idea," she stated bluntly, arms crossed, "Not at all."

"And I don't understand why it's necessary," Aang followed up in a definitively quieter tone, "Wouldn't we work faster as a unit?"

"It's not like we're making an arrest here," Toph reasoned, "There's no reason for us all to descend down on him at once because, if he sees all of us coming, that will only spook him. Besides, you don't know him. I do. He can be squirrely when he feels cornered. I don't want to take the chance that he bolts which might provoke Lin into following him when he does."

"It's not like we're going to attack him, Toph," Katara said, "In fact, I could care less about him or what does and does not make him nervous! All I want is my son!"

"And you'll get him," Toph promised, "Just let me do it my way."

Far from reassured, Katara instead became more agitated than ever. "Why are you trying to cut us out of this?" she demanded, "This doesn't only concern you, Toph! Aang and I have every right to be there too!"

"Oh, get off your high horse, Katara! This has nothing to do with your 'rights' as a parent," Toph retorted, "If you must know the truth, it's about _me_ and my need for privacy! I haven't seen this man in thirteen years. There are a lot of unresolved issues between us, okay! I'd prefer not having an audience when I face him again."

"Toph, I get that you have personal issues with this guy, but—,"

"Let her go, Katara," Sokka interrupted before his sister could finish her argument. "This doesn't have to become a crisis. Toph is perfectly capable of bringing the kids back on her own. It will be fine."

"Listen…I really need to do this by myself," Toph reiterated quietly and the thread of vulnerability in her tone softened Katara and Aang like nothing else could, "Maybe you guys can't understand my reasons, but at least try to respect them."

"Okay," Aang agreed after a silent exchange with Katara, "We'll stay behind if that's what you want us to do. It's probably a good idea for me to rest up for the trip back home anyway."

"I shouldn't be too long," Toph reassured them. She strode from the room confidently, however, once she was out I the corridor and began heading towards the front of the palace, her knees started to tremble violently. It had been more than a decade since she'd had seen Lin's father and, honestly, the thought alone made her feel sick to her stomach. Simply stated, Toph was scared.

She had met him for the first time when she was seventeen years old. He had arrogantly sauntered into her metalbending school with the audacious claim that _he_ had been the one to invent metalbending and that she had stolen his technique. The assertion was ludicrous and everyone knew that by making the accusation he was certainly incurring her wrath, but the stranger had persisted anyway. He was practically begging for Toph to kick his butt and so, after he challenged her to an impromptu earthbending match, she did and thoroughly. Afterwards, she had kicked him out of her school with the terse command that he _never_ return and that had been that…or so she had thought.

In an ironic turn of events, she met him again years later, during a formal gathering thrown in her honor to celebrate her new appointment as Republic City's chief of police. Toph had found herself being pulled away from her circle of friends to meet yet another guest in attendance. Yet, even before the council representative had formally introduced them, Toph had recognized the distinct vibrations that rippled from his body right away. He had greeted her with a rather dry declaration. "There are no introductions necessary," he'd told the representative smoothly, "Trust me. A man never forgets the woman who kicked his a—." Toph had laughed out loud then, drowning out the remainder of his droll statement.

It was then that she finally learned his name. Qi Xing Zheng. Apparently, he wasn't the crazed wanderer that she had once taken him for, but was instead a merchant and a self-made entrepreneur. According to Qi Xing, he had been in Republic City on business when he heard about her party from one of his business colleagues. He decided right then that he didn't want to pass up the opportunity to see her again.

Recognizing that their conversation was growing rather personal, the representative politely excused himself. After he was gone, Toph teased Qi Xing about their first meeting and playfully challenged him to a rematch, but he had shocked her by admitting that his actions on that day hadn't been so much crazy as they had been calculated. In truth, he had been curious to meet the pretty, little blind girl who was supposedly the most formidable earthbender in the world and headmaster of her very own metalbending school.

He had known that getting in to see her would not be easy and he had no time to sit on the ridiculously long waiting list for her class either. Consequently, he had devised a scheme that he knew would likely get her full attention. After observing her work during several bending sessions with her students over the course of several weeks, Qi Xing figured that challenging Toph's ego would probably be the quickest and surest means of getting what he wanted.

His admission had left Toph stunned and filled with mixed emotions. She was somewhat disconcerted to learn that he had been watching her, caught somewhere between outrage and disbelief at the idea of being regarded almost as a circus freak by him, and inordinately amused that his desire to meet her had been so great that he'd risked having his butt handed back to him for the chance. She was strangely intrigued and repulsed by his actions. However, after pondering the situation for a moment, Toph decided that she was largely turned off by his methods and, as a result, had simply dismissed him and walked away. She honestly believed that would be the end of it, just as it had been before when she had kicked him out of her school, but Qi Xing had other ideas.

As the next several weeks unfolded, Qi Xing made a point of mysteriously showing up wherever she was. He continually invited her to dinner, offered her gifts and pursued her persistently, coming back to woo her without fail even after she would brutally rejected him again and again. He took her abuse without fail, trying everything from flowers and sweet treats to goading and provocation to incur Toph's favor or gain her attention. She didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or to throw him in jail.

And no matter what Toph said or did to him, no matter how many times she shut him down, he simply wouldn't give up on charming her. Although part of her was exasperated by his determination, there was also a part of Toph that couldn't deny that she was deeply impressed by his perseverance. Not even her own father had put as much effort into getting to know her as this unpredictable stranger.

Inevitably then, after months and months of pursuit, Toph finally relented and agreed to dinner with Qi Xing…not because she was interested in him romantically, but because his dogged determination had piqued her curiosity about what sort of man he truly was. In the beginning, it had been more of an amusement than anything else. He was entertaining, fascinating and irreverent…nothing more than a pleasant pastime. Yet, very soon she discovered that Qi Xing was much more than a pleasant distraction. He, in fact, had come from a background not at all dissimilar to hers.

Like her, he had grown up in a wealthy household and sheltered from the world and, like her, the person he wished to be and the person _his parents_ wished him to be had been completely at odds. Toph sympathized with his plight, admired the idea that he had left home at a young age to pursue his own destiny just as she had. The more she talked to him and the more time they spent together, the more it seemed that they had in common.

Very gradually, without Toph even being fully aware of it, her curiosity began a slow shift into attraction. The sudden yearning she had to be near him had shocked and dismayed her because Toph had been certain that she had long ago put the foolish notions of love behind her. She had her friends. She had her career. She had her city. That was enough for her. However, the more time she spent with Qi Xing, the more Toph began to dream about something more than that. It was a scary feeling and yet it was strangely welcome as well.

Still, she had made an effort to keep the new emotions closely guarded. Often times, Qi Xing would jokingly complain about Toph "not liking him nearly as much as he liked her." It was his not so subtle way of encouraging her to open her heart to him more. However, she would merely smiled a coy smile and let him believe that. For Toph, it was a better alternative than him knowing the truth…that she was already far past gone for him.

When they finally became lovers, it had been one of the headiest experiences Toph had ever known. She had been with men before, but those times had been born from a mutual, physical need and nothing more. Sex was a biological urge, pleasant and intense, but that was the extent of it. Toph had no desire for male companionship beyond that. Qi Xing changed her mind about that. He was different, not only in the fact that she felt so sexually uninhibited with him, but also because she discovered that she _liked_ being with him even when they weren't in bed together. And when they _were_ in bed, she couldn't get close enough, couldn't get enough of being held by him and kissed by him.

It was an incredible realization. She _welcomed_ snuggling. Her! _Toph Bei Fong!_ She had actually relished being cradled in a man's arms. She felt safe and adored and protected with him. Her feelings were so real, so overwhelming that she had even begun to consider introducing him to her friends. That was when Toph had been entirely certain that she was falling in love…

But then, without warning, all that safety, security and good feeling was snatched out from beneath her and she was doused with cold, hard reality. Qi Xing had abruptly announced that he was feeling "stifled" in their relationship and that he thought it would be best if they "took a break from each other." He had told her that, while he cared deeply for her, he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready to commit to just one woman.

His decision had left Toph feeling both blindsided and infuriated, particularly because his explanation had been so flimsy and inexplicable. How could a man who had chased after her so fiercely suddenly be unsure if he wanted to spend his life with her? _He_ had come after _her_. He had wanted her. He had pursued her and then, when she finally made herself vulnerable to him, he decided that he didn't want them anymore. She didn't understand and she told him so. Qi Xing, however, made it clear for her.

Toph had been a challenge: hard, tough, beautiful, successful, powerful and inaccessible. No man had touched her heart until him. He had like the rush that came with breaking down her emotional walls. He had enjoyed her company. He had even praised the sex between them as some of the best he'd ever had, but he wasn't in love with her and he never had been.

That truth had been a bitter pill for Toph to swallow but she had too much pride to let him know how much he had hurt her. Consequently, she didn't try to stop him when he announced his intentions to leave Republic City and relocate to Ba Sing Se. She had welcomed it, in fact. Her dignity simply wouldn't allow her to make herself vulnerable to him again and that determination would be much easier to maintain with him far away. So he left…and less than three months later Toph made the horrifying discovery that she was going to be a mother.

The bittersweet memories tumbled through Toph's mind as she took the freight car towards the middle ring, filling her with fresh waves of hurt, confusion and disgust. She truly hated him, but she hated herself more for ever believing a word that had come out of his lying mouth. Toph balked at the knowledge that she had been played for a fool by him. No one before him or since him had ever gutted her so thoroughly and she would never forget it. Part of her was spoiling for the chance to face him again, if only to tell him to his face what an insignificant piece of trash he was. Yet, there was another part of her that could have gladly gone without crossing paths with Qi Xing ever again.

By the time she stepped off the train, the dread and trepidation she felt was causing Toph to perspire beneath her armor. The metal chafed and rubbed miserably against the bare portions of her skin, but in a strange way Toph welcomed the sensation. If she was uncomfortable then she would be irritated and if she was irritated then she could take full refuge in her anger and not dwell so much on how completely Qi Xing Zheng had broken her heart. She would simply retrieve her daughter and Tenzin and she then would walk out of his life just as easily as he had walked out of hers.

Finding his address was ridiculously simple even with the added challenge of doing it blind. After inquiring the way from a passerby, Toph quickly winded her way through the milling crowds towards the apartment. According to her last correspondence from him, Qi Xing only lived a few short blocks from the railway.

Her stride was confident and determined until she was within inches of the apartment door and then she faltered. That was the moment that Toph began second-guessing her decision to come alone. At the very least, she should have relented and let Sokka come along. But it was much too late to undo that choice now. Besides that, her concern wasn't really with Qi Xing at all. She was there to get Lin and Tenzin and that was all that mattered. With that resolve fixed firmly in her heart, Toph took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and raised her trembling fist to rap sharply on the door.

Far before she was mentally prepared, the door swung open and a pleasant voice greeted her with an equally pleasant hello. A woman, Toph discerned from the low, dulcet tone. And, judging from her hesitation after her polite greeting Toph imagined that the woman had recognized her blindness and was left flustered by it. Her next words confirmed Toph's suspicions.

"Excuse me, miss? Are…are you lost?" the woman stammered in uncertainty.

Rather than explain the unique nuances of her blindness, Toph instead chose to plow past the woman's discomfort and dive straight to the heart of the matter. "I'm looking for two children, a boy and a girl," she explained, "Both pre-teens. I have reason to believe they might have come here looking for a man named Qi Xing Zheng."

"Oh," the woman sighed, relaxing a bit, "you know Qi Xing?" She wilted against the doorframe. "Thank goodness! I thought for a moment you might be another creditor."

"A creditor?"

"Qi Xing owes quite a few people money," the woman revealed, "They come here looking for him all the time."

"Is he here now?" Toph demanded, growing more impatient with each ticking second.

"Oh goodness no," the woman replied with a bark of laughter, "Qi Xing hasn't lived here in almost ten years. My husband and I haven't heard from him since he sold us this apartment."

"He's not here? Did he leave a forwarding address?" Toph pressed anxiously, "Is that where the children have gone?"

"The children? Oh, you mean the ones you're looking for?" Toph jerked a terse nod. "I'm sorry. I haven't had any children stop by here…at least not any like you've described."

"Are you sure about that? The girl has dark hair and a really sassy mouth. You would definitely remember her if she stopped by here. The boy is the quieter of the two, but he's very protective of her. They don't go anywhere without each other."

The woman shook her head. "Sorry. I'm sure I haven't seen them. I can ask my husband though."

"Please."

While she waited anxiously for the woman to question her husband, Toph couldn't quell the feeling of foreboding that began to rise in her chest. This wasn't good. Lin and Tenzin should have made it to Ba Sing Se by now. They'd had an incredible head start so there was no reason that they shouldn't have reached the city already and come looking for Qi Xing long before she'd arrived.

Toph's mind raced with a myriad of possible reasons as to why Lin and Tenzin might have been delayed in reaching Ba Sing Se and all of them were bad. Her dread only grew when the woman finally returned and said, "I'm so sorry, miss. He said that no one has been by here looking for Qi Xing except the usual creditors."

The answer wasn't surprising considering the fact Toph had been half expecting it but she felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach nonetheless. In that moment, her entire world reduced down to a small pinpoint which left her feeling cramped, confined and inexplicably short of breath. She braced herself against the wooden doorframe, briefly closing her eyes as she struggled to regain control of her rapidly scattering composure. While she was still reeling, Toph turned away from the woman with a mumbled "thank you" and began walking back the way she had come, panic rising with each shuffling step.

"Miss? Miss?" the woman called after her, "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?" But she received no response to her offer because Toph was already shouldering her way through the crowd, disappearing just as mysteriously as she had appeared.

* * *

Lin's first realization upon opening her eyes was that she was in pain. Excruciating pain. Despite her lingering wooziness, it had been that excruciating pain radiating from her left flank that had jarred her back into wakefulness in the first place. Matters weren't helped by the undo pressure her arm was putting against her wound as it was pressed forcefully into her side by the confines of her bonds. Tears of agony sprang to her eyes and nausea rolled through her, but she resolutely blinked the tears and bit down against the urge to be sick. Her mother had taught her at an early age that tears were futile.

"Cry later," Toph had always told her, "Fix the problem _now_." So Lin did exactly that. She focused past her pain and turned her full attention towards fixing the problem.

Currently, that problem consisted of her being wrapped tightly in thick chains from her shoulders down to her waist and anchored to the metal wall of a metal cage, but Lin was fuzzy on the reasons why. Though she struggled to remember the details of how she'd come to be in such a predicament, she continually drew a blank. Her last clear recollection was of having dinner with Tenzin and playfully flicking him with bits of dried fruit as they discussed their plans for the following morning when she finally met her father.

Tenzin!

The realization that she had no idea where he was right then filled Lin with unnamed anxiety. Her heart thwacked against her ribcage like a frightened bird's. Right then, her sole priority became finding him. Lin knew something had happened between landing in chains and dinner, but she couldn't find the pieces. At the moment, it didn't seem to matter much. She was in a bad situation and she needed to get herself out of it. With that in mind, Lin decided to concentrate on what she did know.

First, it was apparently morning now. Through the metal grate situated in the roof of her small prison sunlight filtered in weakly through the eyelet openings, bathing her bare feet and legs in light while the rest of her was cast in shadows. Lin squinted in the hazy illumination, surprised by how much that limited bit of brightness hurt her eyes. Obviously, she had been inside that metal box for some time now.

Through that tiny, makeshift skylight Lin could detect the faint sounds of twittering birds, clanking cookware and muffled conversation. She imagined the voices belonged to whoever had thrown her into the box, which meant that the danger was even closer than she had imagined. Assimilating her captors' close proximity even without the use of her sonic detection, Lin knew she didn't have a wide margin of time to free herself, find Tenzin and Oogi and then get out of there. She had to work quickly.

With that determination set in her mind, she slowly began wiggling to free her hand from underneath the metal links in order to manipulate the metal. The movement was almost unbearable given the chaffing she caused against her raw, burned flesh as she did so, but Lin ignored the pain and did what she had to do. Finally she twisted her fingers free enough to bend back the links of the chains and loosen their grip around her. She carefully held them in her bending grip as they uncoiled from her body, slowly lowering them to the surface of the cage to lessen the clanking noise they might have made once they fell away. Once she was free, she fell back against the cool wall of her cage, trembling with exertion and throbbing pain.

As she sat slumped there she could practically hear her mother hissing in her ear, "Get it together, Lin. Junior isn't going to save himself!" Her jaw clenched with determination with the imagined reminder, Lin gathered together her remaining reserves of strength and prepared to make the escape of her life. "Thanks, Mom," she whispered into the murky dimness.

After the frenetic shaking in her limbs had lessened somewhat, Lin hunched forward and, as quietly as she could, began peeling up whole strips of the metal floor of her prison to expose the solid earth beneath it. When that was done, Lin rose to her feet on trembling legs and inhaled a shuddering breath before closing her eyes and planting her foot firmly against the surface of the ground. A rippling arc of vibrations reverberated out from her foot across the expanse of the camp, giving Lin a clear picture of, not only what was outside and what was not, but also, most importantly, where they were holding Tenzin. He was in a cage similar to hers and trussed up in the same fashion as well.

She decided to go the path of least resistance. Lin supposed that she could bust out from the cage and cause a ruckus in the camp as she made her daring rescue attempt, but she simply didn't have the reserves of strength to do such a thing. The more prudent strategy would be to bend herself from her own cage into Tenzin's. As long as she could see where she was going, the execution wasn't that hard.

Gathering her energy, Lin took a deep breath, closed her eyes and bended herself below ground. The underground burrowing took little more than a few minutes and not too long after she had escaped her prison Lin was beating her way up through the bottom of Tenzin's cage. His initial horror gave way to sighing relief when Lin pushed herself up through the hole she had created and stood to face him.

"What took you so long?" he demanded in a low whisper.

Lin grimaced at him. "Gee, thanks for saving my butt, Lin," she mocked dryly, "Sure, no problem, Tenzin. What are friends for?"

"I just meant that I was starting to worry about you," Tenzin clarified with an eye roll, "I was expecting you to show up a while ago."

"I guess I was out," Lin replied, bending down carefully to begin working on his bonds, "What happened anyway?"

"Some men came into our camp and tried to take Oogi," Tenzin explained, "We tried to stop them. That's all I remember."

Lin compressed her lips into a thin line at the retelling. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume we lost that fight."

"It doesn't matter. Let's just find Oogi and get out of here."

As Lin finished disintegrating his chains, she said rather hesitantly, "Tenzin, about that…I don't think Oogi is here. I checked out the camp before I came to get you and I didn't see him."

Once the chains fell away, Tenzin surged to his feet with a frown. "Are you sure? He has to be here! Maybe you missed him!"

"He's a ten ton magical beast, Tenzin! I didn't miss him! He's not here," Lin insisted, "I think they must have taken him someplace else."

"So let's find him!"

He started towards the exit but she snagged hold of his arm. "We don't really have a lot of time to do that."

"I'm not leaving without my bison!" he hissed, "We can't, Lin! We'll never make it to Ba Sing Se without him!"

"Right now none of that matters," Lin whispered back fiercely as she began to detect raised voices outside in the camp, "If we don't leave now then we won't have a chance to look for Oogi later. It won't be too long before the people who took us discover that I'm missing. Tenzin, I know you want to find Oogi. I do too. But we have to get out of here. This might be our only chance!" She placed an imploring hand on his forearm. "Please. I know we'll find Oogi later or he'll find us. You haven't lost him for good. I'm not ready to accept that."

Tenzin stood frozen for a moment, visibly torn between sentiment and reason and silently vacillating about what he should do before finally jerking his head in a nod of agreement. "Fine," he bit out, obviously unhappy with the choice, "Let's go."

No sooner had he given his consent, however, than pandemonium and shouts began to explode just on the other side of the cage. They could hear someone being called an "idiot" and someone else ranting about how "they" could have missed the fact that "the kid could be a metalbender." Realizing that their time had run out and they were about two seconds away from being discovered, Lin quickly tore a gaping hole in the back of the cage, snagged hold of Tenzin's wrist and made a run for it.

The instant they burst out into the open, they were fired upon. In a graceful, backwards twirl, Tenzin managed to kick out a swirling vortex of air which slowed the enemy's advance and threw them into confusion. Fortunately for he and Lin, there was a cluster of trees that would provide the perfect cover less than two hundred feet away. Unfortunately for them, their kidnappers regrouped quickly which forced them to make a dash for that cover under heavy earth and fire attacks.

As fireballs and boulders rocketed past them with punishing speeds, missing their bodies by scant inches in some instances, Tenzin made the impulsive decision to have Lin swing up onto his back and without ever breaking his stride. Once she had and he was certain she was secure, he kicked out his air scooter and began racing towards the forest with a wailing Lin bouncing behind him and hanging on for dear life. Behind them, the sound of thundering footfalls and shouting became fainter, but was still detectable as their captors kept up their pursuit.

They found refuge in the trees with Tenzin darting and dodging, not only the sudden obstacles that fell into their path, but the continuing attacks that ensued from behind as well. It was frustrating because it seemed to Tenzin that no matter which way he turned, he was either veering out from his path because of trees, sinister men waiting with nets or flying darts. He had no idea who had taken him and Lin but it was pretty clear that they had no intention of losing them.

The constant jarring was agonizing for Lin and by sheer force of will she managed to keep a tight grip on Tenzin and keep from passing out. Every bounce sent spurts sharp, piercing pain throughout her entire body. She became clammy and dizzy. Around her, the forest seemed to expand and contract, somehow becoming more shadowy and dense as Tenzin drove them deeper into it. And all the while their pursuers didn't give up even while Lin was sure that pretty soon her body and her will would.

Tenzin gripped her forearms when he felt her hold slackening and she started to slip. "Hey! Are you okay back there?" he called back anxiously to her, "You're going to have to hold on to me, Lin!"

"I…I don't know…" she mumbled, "…I don't know if I can hold on much longer…so tired. I think I'm hurt bad, Tenzin. You're going to have to leave me."

If anything, Lin's desperate request made him hoist her higher onto his back. "No. I've left enough behind today. I'm not leaving you too!"

About 50 feet ahead of them, Tenzin could see light again and he knew that meant they were entering the edge of the forest. He was so intent on reaching his goal in order to inspect Lin's injury that he didn't notice the thin line of rope that had been laid up ahead for him as a booby trap. Seconds later, his foot snagged the rope, throwing him off balance so that his air scooter dissipated into nothing and he and Lin were thrown airborne.

He managed to cushion their fall beneath a current of air, but when they managed to roll to their feet again they discovered their grim circumstances. Their captors had finally closed them distance between them and were now converging in on the frightened pre-teens on all sides. Flight was futile. There was absolutely nowhere else to run because Tenzin and Lin stood on a precipice overlooking a rushing river below. Recognizing that they were cornered, Tenzin drew a drooping Lin protectively to his side and they both faced their kidnappers with haughty calm.

Coils of fire danced around the leader's fists as he regarded them both with a malevolent smile. "There's nowhere for you to go now," he said, "Don't you realize that you only make things harder on yourself when you run? You've ruined my morning with all these shenanigans!"

"Screw you and your morning, you coward!" Lin growled, "What kind of man proves his fighting prowess by terrorizing two little kids?"

The firebender pinned Lin with gleaming eyes. "Oh, you're a feisty one, aren't you? I've heard the stories about your mother…and your grandfather. You're going to bring me a lot of coin, but first I'm going to have to break you." The smile he leveled her way made Lin shudder. "I can't wait."

Although she was ashen with pain and very clearly sapped of energy, the expression on Lin's face screamed that he would die trying. Tenzin, however, didn't want it to come to that. He was already mentally calculating the drop beyond. It was pretty high up and a quick glance down at the river had confirmed that the rapids were swift and strong, but he felt confident that he could manage it. Given their circumstances, however, Tenzin realized he didn't really have much choice in the matter.

"Let's us go!" he demanded and then he did something that he didn't usually do. He played the "avatar" card. "Don't you know who I am? When my father finds out what you've done to me and my friend, there will be no place for you to hide!"

"And how is he going to find out, hmm?" the leader jeered, "No one knows that you're out here with us, including I suspect, your all powerful father."

Tenzin tried not to quake perceptibly at that observation as one of the firebender's earthbending comrades added, "The Avatar has no jurisdiction here, kid. This isn't Republic City and you don't have Daddy's protection out here. Best for you to settle down and come back to camp with us before someone gets hurt."

"No. Just give me back my bison and let us go," Tenzin said, "You can walk away and Lin and I will never say a word. You don't want my parents or her mom coming after you. It won't end well."

The leader began uncoiling his fire whip, his disdainful smirk growing. "I think I'll take my chances."

At that point, Tenzin knew he was out of options, but he and Lin were ready. Their hands linked together tightly, they both prepared for the only option left to them. After trading a quick, unspoken glance, Tenzin swept Lin against his side and secured her firmly. He then took a deep breath, punched out the strongest current of air he could manage…and jumped off the cliff.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

They had fallen asleep while she'd been away.

Aang, Katara and Sokka were still in Kuei's conference room situated exactly where Toph had left them an hour and a half earlier, but instead of being seated at the table as they had been before, they were now leaning against the wall, huddled together and snoring softly. As if he had fallen asleep mid-sentence, Sokka lay with his mouth hanging open and his knees drawn up as he slumped into Aang's left shoulder. Katara, meanwhile, was draped across Aang's chest, her arm sprawled loosely across his abdomen. And, although the positioning was awkward, Aang had half turned into her body in an unconscious bid for closer proximity, seeking Katara's warmth even in his sleep.

For a brief second, Toph stood there and allowed herself to appreciate the quiet tranquility of the moment. She reflected on how many times they had fallen asleep just that way when they'd been children. The camaraderie between them was just as strong now as it had been back then. They were forever bonded through their triumphs, through their failures and through their sorrows. Recognition of the latter only heightened Toph's dread for what she was about to do next.

After sucking in a fortifying breath, she strode forward and nudged Sokka's foot with her toe. He snapped into wakefulness mid-snore, jerking upright with a deep scowl. "Is it lunchtime already?" he wondered automatically.

His disoriented query roused Katara and Aang from slumber as well and as they blinked away the drowsy cover of sleep they gradually became aware that Toph was standing over them…and that she was alone. Katara's expression crumpled with disappointment before Toph could speak a word of explanation. The lump of dread forming in the pit of her stomach grew exponentially.

"You didn't find the kids, did you?" she surmised with soft hesitation.

Toph shook her head sadly. "I'm not sure they even made it to Ba Sing Se."

"What?" Sokka exclaimed dubiously, standing upright, "Of course they have to be here already. They had plenty of time! Did Qi Xing tell you that he didn't know where they were because I wouldn't trust that guy further than I could throw him, Toph?"

"No. Qi Xing doesn't live here anymore," Toph explained, "The woman who bought his apartment said that he had cleared out years ago. She also said that Lin and Tenzin hadn't stopped by."

"Well maybe they've gotten lost," Aang considered hopefully as he rolled to his feet and then assisted Katara to hers, "Ba Sing Se is a big city. It can be confusing if you don't know your way around. Remember how overwhelmed we were the first time we came? We shouldn't panic just yet."

Before he had even finished speaking, Katara was already rejecting that idea. "Aang, you know how meticulous Tenzin can be," she argued, "He likes to plan things right down to the finest details. There's no way that he and Lin are lost in the city." She wrapped her arms around her middle, groaning in dismay. "Something's happened to them. I know it. I _feel_ it."

"I'm with Katara on this," Toph said, equally worried though she masked her apprehension behind a gruff exterior, "If Lin is as determined to find her father as I think she is then she _would_ have found him by now. My girl is tenacious and she has good instincts. If they haven't tracked down Qi Xing yet then it's because they never made to Ba Sing Se."

"Let's not jump to hasty conclusions," Sokka told them both, "All we know right now is that Lin and Tenzin didn't make it to their expected destination. We have to stay calm and consider all the possibilities first."

"No, what we _need_ to do is take Appa back out there and retrace our steps," Katara countered stubbornly, "Maybe they were hurt or maybe something happened with Oogi or maybe they—,"

"Wait! Simmer down a bit, Katara," Sokka cried before she could fly off on a tangent listing every horrific scenario her mind could dream up, "Let's stick with the facts. Lin and Tenzin haven't been by Qi Xing's old apartment. That doesn't mean they won't eventually show up. There is still a chance, even if it's only a small one, that they're here in the city. We should begin our search here and then expand it."

Aang inclined his head in a small nod of agreement. "I can talk to Kuei about having some missing posters drawn up of the children," he said, "and then we can post them all around Ba Sing Se." He reached over to squeeze Katara's hand. "Surely if they're here then someone has seen them and, if they haven't, then they'll know to look for them. We can't let ourselves panic," he reiterated.

"I'm trying not to panic, Aang," Katara whispered, "I really am, but I'm so scared right now."

He pulled her closer and brushed a distracted kiss across her temple. "Me too."

"Well, come on then!" Toph ordered impatiently, already heading for the exit, "We can have Kuei's royal artists make some quick sketches of Lin and Tenzin for the posters. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we find the kids!" When Aang, Katara and Sokka didn't immediately hurry behind her, as if they expected her to handle the task on her own, Toph added with an exasperated sigh, "You guys _do_ realize that you have to come with me, right? I don't know what they look like beyond 'dark hair' and 'bald head,' so they might need a little more to go on!" She waved a hand in front of her face. "I'm blind, remember?"

An hour later, the gang and a dozen of Kuei's soldiers were making their way through Ba Sing Se's middle ring, posting missing flyers of Lin and Tenzin throughout the square. While Sokka, Aang and Katara worked in tandem with one another, Toph once again began isolating herself, deliberately working on the other side of the square far away from the group. And once Katara became aware of that self-imposed isolation, it was difficult for the waterbender to ignore it. Despite Aang and Sokka's counsel to "leave it alone," Katara knew that was going to be impossible for her. Consequently, it wasn't long before she drifted away from Aang and Sokka and went join Toph across the street.

Without a word, she plucked the poster Toph had been holding from the blind woman's fingers, turned it so that it was right side up and then dutifully pasted it on the wall in front of them. Toph expelled a self-effacing grunt. "I've been posting them upside down this whole time, haven't I?" she concluded with a mild thread of annoyance.

"For the last city block," Katara confirmed dryly.

"Yeah, I have a knack for doing that."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Katara told her, "This will probably go a lot faster if you and I worked together."

"I appreciate the offer, Katara, but considering the friction that's been between us lately I think it might be better if you and I kept our distance for now."

"I don't agree with that, Toph—,"

"—Somehow that doesn't surprise me—,"

"—In fact," Katara pressed on, "that's part of the reason I came over here to join you. Our children are missing. We're both in pain and we're both scared. The last thing we should be is at each other's throats, Toph. I don't want it to be like that."

"Fine," Toph conceded, "Back off with the mother hen routine then I'm sure you and I will do just fine."

Katara furrowed her brow. "I'm not trying to mother you, Toph," she denied hotly, "I'm trying to help you."

Given the incredible rawness of Toph's emotions right then, especially because she was presently struggling with feeling helpless and vulnerable, Katara's well-meaning offer seemed to only aggravate her already sensitive nerves. Toph resented Katara's concern, resented the idea that Katara thought she _needed_ assistance at all. In the back of her mind, she recognized that Katara was just being Katara, but in that instant, Toph's temper flared before reason could prevail.

"Have you ever considered the possibility that maybe I don't want your help, Katara?" she snapped irritably, "Or that maybe the problem is this persistent idea you have that I _need _it? I'm a big girl! I can take care of myself I've been doing a fine job of it for three decades now!"

"Did I say you couldn't? I came over here as a gesture of peace, Toph, not to have my head bitten off!"

"Oh, poor put upon Katara," Toph drawled sarcastically, "However do you put up with us mere mortals?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I don't care what you meant. You offered your help. I said 'no.' You can run back over to the other side of the street with Aang and Sokka now. Buh-bye."

Katara reacted to the verbal dismissal as if Toph had slapped her. She realized then that Toph's attitude wasn't merely springing from a place of aggravation or anxiety. Whatever issue Toph had with her, it went much deeper than their missing children and usual clashing. It was almost as if Toph resented her for reason. It wasn't in anything that she had said to Katara, but Toph had been acting in a definitively frosty manner towards her the past two days. Now, frustrated and emotionally on edge herself, Katara had finally reached the limits of her patience in dealing it.

"What exactly is your problem, Toph?" she demanded, "Have I done something to offend you?"

"Please," Toph mumbled, resuming her task of pasting the posters, "How could _you_, good, brave, strong and capable Katara offend _me_? You're nothing less than perfection realized."

The jibe, while passive-aggressive, was hard to miss. Katara narrowed her eyes. "If you have something on your mind, why don't you just say it?" she challenged. However, rather than answering Toph maintained an obstinate silence and, instead, ignored Katara altogether. It was then that the waterbender's temper snapped. "You know, this is exactly your problem, Toph!" she bit out, "You never _deal_ with anything! Instead, you turn your back and pretend it's not there! Maybe if you stopped running away from your problems for once we wouldn't be in the mess at all!"

Toph snapped erect with a growl. "Are you _blaming_ me for this?"

"Well, you're the one who lied," Katara pointed out disdainfully, "Maybe if you had acted like an adult and sat Lin down to tell her the truth about her father none of this would be happening right now!"

"Oh really?"

"No one else will tell you, because they like to walk on eggshells around you, but that's not going to be me! You should have been honest with Lin from the start, Toph!" As the words echoed in her own ears, Katara vaguely recognized that later she would regret saying them. But right then, in heat of the moment, her fury was fueling her and propelling the words from her lips. "Lying didn't help anyone in the long run. Not you and certainly not her! Now we're all paying for _your_ mistake!"

Katara's charge had a lacerating effect on Toph, not only because of her harsh tone, but because she wasn't accusing Toph of anything Toph hadn't already secretly condemned herself for. In essence, Katara was merely saying aloud the words that had been echoing insidiously in Toph's own mind for days. Understandably then, the accusation was difficult to hear out loud because, for Toph, it was all the confirmation she needed that the accusations of her conscience were true. The guilt that realization brought with it was almost suffocating and far more than Toph was emotionally equipped to handle at that moment. It was little wonder then that Toph reacted defensively and lashed out in retaliation.

"And you're such an advocate for the truth, aren't you, Katara? You're such a hypocrite and you don't even know it!"

"Excuse me?" Katara rasped, drawing herself up in righteous indignation, "Exactly how am I being a hypocrite?"

Toph crossed her arms. "Maybe it's because you expect others to talk about the horrible, painful periods in their lives while you don't have to say a word about your own!"

"What are you talking about, Toph?" Katara huffed with a dismissive air.

"I'm talking about your miscarriage!" Toph retorted sharply.

That declaration shut Katara down like nothing else could have. One moment, she was rigid and tense and spoiling for a fight and the next moment she was gasping and shrinking back into herself. Toph took very little joy in emotionally cowing her, however. In fact, her success on that score only managed to make Toph feel worse. "Sokka told me what happened," she revealed softly, "Why didn't you?"

"What was I supposed to say?" Katara asked hoarsely when she found her voice again, "It happened a long time ago, Toph. It doesn't have anything to do with what's happening between us now."

"It has _everything_ to do with it," Toph refuted, "and it explains so much."

"Explains what?"

"Why you resent me…and why you resent Lin."

Katara shook her head in denial of that. "No! That's insane! I don't resent either one of you! Where would you get an idea like that, Toph?"

Her vehemence did little more than incur Toph's dubious snort of laughter. "Now who's being dishonest?"

"I don't like what you're accusing me of here!"

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Toph insisted, "In fact I kind of understand why you would feel that way. I mean let's consider the facts…I never wanted to be a mother. I didn't plan to have a kid and, when I did have one, I definitely didn't know what to do with her. I'm a disaster when it comes to motherhood. You know it and I know it. And then there's you…mother of the year, with the perfect husband and perfect children…and you lost your baby and on the same night that mine was born. Why wouldn't you resent me?"

Katara's eyes filled with tears at the question. However, her anguish wasn't due to Toph's assumption, but rather to the corrosive self-hatred she heard in her friend's tone as she spoke…hatred Katara had just unknowingly intensified moments earlier with her thoughtless words. "You're wrong, Toph. I _never_ thought that way."

"Be honest, Katara! You didn't hate me?" Toph pressed, "Not even a little? You're the good mother! I'm not! But I had my child and you didn't!"

"That's not your fault, Toph, and I don't blame you and I never have! The baby was gone before I even came to you that night," she explained needlessly, "It was over and all I wanted to concentrate on that night was you and your baby. Please don't take what I said to you before to heart. You know I was angry. I always say things I don't mean when I'm like that."

"But I think you _did_ mean it, even if it was only a tiny part of you," Toph insisted, quickly adding before Katara could argue, "I heard you and Aang talking on Appa the other night, Katara. You think Lin is a bad influence on Tenzin."

Katara suppressed a groan, the picture of why Toph had been so stilted with her lately becoming clearer and clearer as the minutes elapsed. "No, you've completely misunderstood…"

"You think I'm a bad mother and I raised a bad child—,"

"—Toph, no! I—,"

"—and maybe you're right about that," the earthbender pressed on despite Katara's protests, "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't make all the right decisions or do and say all the right things, but I have done the best I could with what I had! You don't get to judge me for that!"

Because she recognized that she _had_ been doing that on some level, Katara didn't try to defend herself. "You're right. I don't get to judge you," she agreed softly, "And I never meant for you to take it that way. My feelings aren't really about you or Lin at all. It's only that…lately Tenzin has become less open with me and I didn't like feeling like I no longer knew my child. I felt like he was slipping away from me and I suppose I was looking for someone to blame for that."

"That's the last thing you have to worry about, Katara," Toph mumbled, "He's not slipping away from you. _He_ left a letter for you so you wouldn't worry about him, remember? My kid took off without a word. Believe me I know what not 'knowing' your child feels like and you're not even close!"

"I'm not comparing my situation to yours," Katara whispered, "I know they aren't the same, but I can at least sympathize with what you're going through, Toph. Please don't shut me out. We're friends. We're _sisters_. We shouldn't cut each other off this way."

"I can't help it," Toph mumbled, her words thick and nearly unintelligible, "It's not you. It's me. I feel so guilty when I'm around you, Katara…because I know I've caused you pain and I've disrupted your family and that you've been a better friend to me than I've ever been to you…"

"…that's not true at all," Katara refuted because she could finish the thought, "You're a better friend than you give yourself credit for, Toph. You're one of the few people in this world who loves me without judgment or reservation, in spite of my flaws. I'm not even capable of doing that sometimes."

"But you do try," Toph teased her with a teary laugh.

"It's safe to say that we both have our strengths and weaknesses in the friend department," Katara acknowledged, "But when it's all said and done, when you need me, I have your back, Toph. And I know that you have mine too. We have to stick together now. It's the only way we'll get through this."

"I hear what you're saying, but—,"

"—There are no 'buts,'" Katara interrupted firmly, "I do _not_ think you're a bad mother and I have never resented you or Lin. The truth is that being there with you the night she was born helped me in a way because I felt like I had lost everything.

"But when I held Lin in my arms and heard her cry for the first time…when I put her into your arms…" she continued in a tone suffocated with emotion, "I realized that I still had so much more than I had lost. So, in a way, you saved me that night, Toph…and so did she."

While the sincere words helped to soothe Toph's hurt feelings, she didn't lower her defenses completely. "What about the other stuff? You still think Lin is leading Tenzin down the path of destruction, don't you?"

Katara considered sugarcoating her conflicted feelings on the matter, but considering how brutally honest she and Toph had been with one another up until that point, Katara decided to keep with the theme and speak her mind frankly instead. She suspected that Toph would likely appreciate the latter more anyway.

"I don't think she's leading him down a destructive path," she said, "But I _do_ have concerns about the influence she has on him sometimes. So much has changed with Tenzin in such a short period of time and it's hard for me to keep up. Maybe I just don't like the idea of my baby becoming a man. I'm not ready."

Toph relaxed a bit with Katara's candid admission. "Well, if it means anything to you, I _like_ the influence that Tenzin has on Lin. I think he brings out the best in her and…I'd like to think that she brings out the best in him too."

After a few moments of honest consideration, Katara inclined her head in a nod of agreement. "She does. I truly believe that, Toph, and I will never be sad that she and Tenzin are friends."

"You can still say that even after all that's happened?"

"Aang helped me to see that blaming Lin for this is far too easy," Katara sighed, "The fact is that Tenzin made the choice and _Tenzin_ is responsible for Tenzin and he needs to be held accountable."

"We both know that Lin played her part in this as well," Toph acknowledged, "Tenzin probably wouldn't have gone at all if she hadn't involved him. I know that, Katara. Trust me she's going to get an earful from me when we find them."

Katara nibbled her lip in pensive uncertainty. "We _are_ going to find them, Toph, aren't we?"

Toph surprised them both by pulling Katara close for a tight hug of solidarity. "Yes, we are," she promised, "I won't rest until we do."

Aang stopped short on his way across the square, recognizing that the argument he'd perceived to be unfolding between Katara and Toph had seemingly been resolved. Whereas a few moments before it looked as if they had been exchanging harsh words, now they were embracing each other. Aang slumped with relief. He was glad they had straightened out the issues between them because the tension wasn't helping their already tentative situation.

Not wanting to interrupt their tender moment, Aang instead excused himself quietly before they were alerted to his presence at all and turned to rejoin Sokka just down the road. After a few minutes of searching, he found his friend loitering near a decorative fountain in the center of the square. Sokka was perched on the edge of the delicately carved stone lip and was moodily contemplating the missing posters for Lin and Tenzin.

He glanced up at Aang's quiet approach. "What happened with the girls?" he asked when Aang sat down beside him, "Did you get them to settle down?"

"Actually, I didn't have to do a thing," Aang replied, "They were already making up before I could get over there."

"Good. The situation is bad enough without them fighting every five seconds." He slapped his hands against his thighs in a gesture of anticipation. "So what's next?"

"Well, we've got all the posters up in this area," Aang remarked, "We should probably move on to the next section of town."

Sokka grunted his agreement, his eyes returning to the posters in his hands. "Do you think we're wasting our time with this?" he wondered morosely, "What if Katara and Toph are right? What if they never made it here?"

"I hope they're not," Aang sighed as he dragged his hands down the length of his face. "I need Tenzin and Lin to be here, Sokka. I don't want to even contemplate the alternative."

Commiserating with the anxiety he heard in Aang's tone, Sokka slid his friend an appraising, sideways glance and noted the dark rings of fatigue around his eyes. "You look tired, Aang."

"I _am_ tired. I haven't slept in three days. And when I try to close my mind goes to crazy places. I'm trying to stay positive."

"Tenzin's a capable kid. They both are. They can handle themselves."

"Yeah, people said the same thing about us and you know how much trouble we got into," Aang reminded him dryly.

"I guess I can't argue with you there," Sokka replied with a humorless laugh. "You know…I would expect something like this from Lin…taking off without a word, being impulsive… She's always been a firecracker from the moment she was born. But Tenzin? My obedient, rule-following, straight arrow nephew? I never imagined it."

"That makes two of us," Aang muttered.

"It's so weird that we're here doing this right now," Sokka remarked, "It reminds me of that time when Appa went missing and we posted those flyers of him all over Ba Sing Se."

"I remember. It's strange how you relive certain events in your life over and over again."

"Tell me about it," Sokka laughed, "I can't tell you how many times I've found myself scolding the boys only to realize that I've had the exact same conversation before, only it was with me in their place and my dad in mine. Talk about blowing your mind. I'm becoming the old man."

"There are worse things than becoming your father, Sokka," Aang replied, "You should be so lucky. Hakoda's a good man and he's taught me a lot about what it means to be a husband and a father. There are few men in this world that I respect more than him, you know."

"Yeah, he's pretty great. I wish he was here right now because I could use his advice."

"I still have two ears," Aang offered, "I'll listen if you want to talk."

"You've got your own stuff to deal with," Sokka protested, "I don't want to burden you, Aang."

"You didn't ask. I offered. Besides, I can't help myself right now so maybe I can help you."

Sokka wavered for a second before he finally acquiesced with a sigh. "It's this whole business with Lin taking off to find her father," he confided in a low whisper, "I feel like I'm in a very awkward position where she's concerned. In a lot of respects, she's like my own daughter. I love her like she's my own. But…she's not. She has a father and now she's gone off to look for him and I can't help but feel…"

"…threatened? Slighted? Scared?" Aang ventured when he puttered off into silence.

"All of the above," Sokka confessed miserably. He dropped his head forward. "What is wrong with me? I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but I do."

"I think what you're feeling is normal, Sokka."

Sokka flicked Aang with a surprised glance. "You don't think I'm being self-absorbed and selfish?"

Rather than answering the question with his personal opinion, Aang decided to turn it back around to Sokka in hopes of getting his friend to engage in a bit of self-reflection. "Do _you_ think you're being self-absorbed and selfish?"

"Maybe I am," the WaterTribe warrior considered with a deep scowl, "After all, Lin has a right to know where she comes from! It's natural that she would want to know her father and build a relationship with him! If I were in her shoes I would probably want the same thing! So how can I know all of this and completely believe it and still feel like I'm losing her. I feel like I've failed somehow…that I didn't live up to some expectation she had and that's why she took off. Toph is blaming herself but what if it's really _my_ fault that Lin ran?"

"I don't believe that. This isn't some shortcoming on your part. In fact, the whole reason you're beating yourself up this way is _because_ you're her father. You raised her, Sokka," Aang reasoned, "You love her."

Sokka swallowed thickly. "That's exactly right. I do. So why did she run off? Did I really do enough? Was I there for her enough?"

"You know you were. Blaming yourself is far too simple."

"What else am I supposed to think?"

"Look, there's no denying that you've been a positive influence in Lin's life," Aang argued, "but the arrangement you have with Toph isn't a traditional family unit by any means and maybe that's what Lin is after. Maybe she believes that if she finds her father, he and Toph will reconcile and then she'll have a traditional family too, with a mom and a dad who live in the same house together."

"That's not going to happen in a million years. The guy's a dirt-bag, Aang! Toph would sooner cover him in honey and leave him for fire-ants than reconcile with him!"

"Okay, so it's an exercise in futility, but that's still something Lin will have to discover on her own."

"Are you saying that you think because your kids have you and Katara and the boys have me and Suki and even Honora and her brothers have Zuko and Mai and we're all family units that Lin is trying to create the same thing for herself with her birth father?" Sokka pondered aloud.

Aang shrugged. "I can't say for sure that's what's motivating her, but that's the kind of family she's been surrounded by her entire life and she's _only_ one who doesn't have that. It might not even be something Lin is consciously aware of, but I think it's a possibility."

Sokka shifted upright to contemplate the theory. "When I think about it, it does make sense. Even when she was very small Lin was always obsessed with the idea of having a mommy and daddy like everyone else. She used to ask me all the time why Toph and I didn't live in the same house. I know it was really confusing for her back then."

"So maybe Lin didn't run away because you weren't enough. Maybe she just wants to have the family that _you_ showed her was possible."

"She's going to be disappointed. Qi Xing Zheng is not the man Lin imagines him to be."

"So what happened exactly, Sokka?" Aang prompted carefully, "Between Toph and Qi Xing, I mean… I didn't even know she was serious about anyone."

"I didn't either. I didn't find out until after he left her. Even now, I don't have the whole story. She won't talk about it. All I do know is that he treated his relationship with Toph like it was a game, but it wasn't a game to her."

"Poor Toph."

"Don't do that, Aang," Sokka warned, "_Don't_ feel sorry for her. It will just make her angry."

"I know. But it kills me to think that she went through so much heartbreak and we didn't know about it. She should have been able to come to us. I hate that she didn't feel like she could."

"Well, she's not the only one guilty of riding out a difficult time on her own," Sokka reminded him, "We've all kept secrets from each other. You and Katara have done it and I know Suki and I have done it too. We don't share everything, Aang."

"But we used to," he sighed, "and I miss that, Sokka. We used to talk more and spend more time together. I don't know when we became so busy with our own lives that we started neglecting our friendship, but… It's not right. I miss how close we used to be."

"Yeah…" Sokka mumbled sympathetically, "I miss that too. Maybe when all this is straightened out with the kids we can try to work on getting closer again." He started to say more on the subject, but his attention was suddenly diverted by the sight of a large crowd gathering about two blocks away. His brows snapped together in a curious frown. "Hmm…I wonder what's going on over there."

"I don't know," Aang said, "But it's probably as good a place as any to start asking after Tenzin and Lin."

Sokka rose to his feet. "Good idea. Why don't you head over there and get started? I'll get the girls and we'll meet up with you."

"Sounds good."

Aang started on the very outskirts of the throng, flashing each person he passed a picture of Tenzin and Lin and asking if they had seen either child. At first, the answers he received were clipped and impatient because each person was concerned with what was happening at the very front of the multitude, but then that irritation quickly began to give way to astonishment and awe as people began to recognize who he was. Their fascinated attention wasn't exactly what Aang had in mind, but he used it to his advantage nonetheless.

After a few moments, he was able to make his way towards the front of the crowd and, as he did, excitement began to ripple out among the people to have their Avatar in such close proximity. It wasn't long before the point of the gathering was completely lost as all attention was refocused solely on Aang. That development produced both good and bad repercussions.

The good came from the fact that Aang managed to gain a large audience to which to distribute his missing posters. The bad came from the belated realization that he had just interrupted a public auction and brought it to a grinding halt with his presence. The merchant overseeing the function was none too pleased by that fact. He raised his fist and began berating Aang, but Aang barely registered the man's irritation with him.

He was too shocked by the sight of _what_ the man was auctioning off to give a second thought to the man's indignation. At first, he was sure that he was hallucinating. However, after he blinked several times and the vision before him didn't disappear Aang knew he wasn't imagining things.

Less than 300 feet away from him, chained to a wooden platform by all six of his mighty legs and looking as if he had just gone through the fight of his life, was none other than his son's beloved sky bison, Oogi.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

When Tenzin woke up shivering on the soggy riverbank his first clear thought was of Lin.

Ignoring the groaning protest from his battered muscles, Tenzin carefully pushed himself upright and began calling for her, more than a little panicked when he didn't find any sign of her in his immediate vicinity. He instantly began second-guessing his decision to leap off of a thirty foot overhang. She had known that he planned to jump. He had seen the acceptance and resignation in her eyes in those few seconds before he took them over the edge. Still, Tenzin wasn't certain that she'd been completely prepared for it.

Although he had used his airbending to slow their hurtling descent towards the pitching water below, Lin hadn't been able to maintain her hold on him. He could feel her arms begin to slacken around his neck. In his effort to grasp hold of her and keep her steady, he lost control of his airbending jet only seconds before they plunged into the icy river below. And after they he the water, Tenzin lost sight of Lin.

He didn't remember much following that moment. The frigid water had been such a shock to his system that he was certain he had blacked out for a few seconds during his fight to keep his head above the churning waves. The next thing he knew he was on the riverbank, half sprawled across a dead tree trunk, bruised and banged up and completely alone. With dread and fear settling in his belly like a leaden weight, Tenzin stumbled painfully along the bank in search of Lin, his heart dying a little each time his cries went unanswered. Still, he kept on calling out to her and muttering, hoping, _pleading_ with the spirits themselves for her to be okay. If something happened to Lin, he would never get over it. He would never forgive himself.

His search seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Tenzin felt as if he had been walking for hours instead of minutes when he finally spotted Lin as she made a valiant effort to pull herself from the water and up onto shore. He sprinted over to her side, falling to his knees to help pull her waterlogged form from the water. She was trembling and her lips were blue, but she was thankfully alive and that was all that mattered to him.

Before she was even settled, Tenzin threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. "Thank goodness you're okay!" he cried fiercely, "I've never been so scared in my life!" He reared back, gripping her shoulders almost desperately. "Why didn't you answer me?"

"Sorry…I was too busy choking on water," she grunted with brimming sarcasm, "I'll do better next time."

Tenzin drew her shivering body closer, trying to provide her with warmth by means of his own body heat. "You could have died," he admonished her, "Why didn't you hold on to me before?"

"Why did you let go?" Lin countered weakly.

It was her lame attempt at a joke, Tenzin knew, but he couldn't bring himself to laugh…not when she looked like death. Carefully then, he lowered her back against the ground, mindful not to cause her further discomfort. He briskly chafed her arms and legs with his hands, hoping that the constant friction would help to restore blood flow to her extremities. While her skin warmed a bit, she still remained alarmingly pale.

Recalling what she had revealed to him as they'd raced through the forest on his air scooter, Tenzin said, "Try to relax. I'm going to see how badly you're hurt."

Lin jerked a nod. "Okay…but don't poke around too much."

As he carefully peeled away the ragged remains of her tunic for closer inspection, Tenzin asked, "How were you hurt in the first place, Lin? _When_ were you hurt?"

"I'm not sure…" she mumbled, "All I know is that I woke up in that box and this is how it was…" She grimaced despite the tentative care he took with her. "Be careful!" she hissed, "You have no idea how much I hurt."

"I know," he soothed, "I'll take care of it." Unfortunately, as he gradually uncovered the wound, Tenzin realized that what he had assumed was a cut or perhaps even a gash was actually an extremely severe burn. The angry red, raw patch of skin encompassed her left flank as far down as her hip. Lin's flesh was charred, blistered, swollen and, if the purulent drainage was any indication, infected as well. Tenzin swallowed past the acrid lump that rose in his throat, clamping down on the urge to cry. Lin needed a healer and she needed one soon.

The problem with that was that they were out in the middle of nowhere and Tenzin had no idea how close the nearest town was or even if there _was_ a nearest town. They had no money, no shelter and no viable means of transportation other than their own feet. The situation was dire and he knew it.

"Well?" Tenzin jerked a startled glance to Lin's expectant features, shaken from his troubled thoughts by her impatient query. He made a mighty effort to mask his worry, but Lin could plainly read his emotions as they chased across his expressive face. "Is…is it bad?" she asked him.

Tenzin forced a wooden smile. "No. Not so much."

His forced bravado was answer enough for Lin. She leaned her head back into the marsh and swallowed thickly. "You're a horrible liar, you know that, Tenzin? You always have been."

"I'm going to have to find something to pack it," he said, his eyes already darting over their surroundings in search of some herbal aid, "Some eucalyptus maybe…"

"So what…suddenly you're a healer now?" Lin teased him tiredly, "I guess being the son of the avatar and the greatest waterbender ever has finally gone to your head."

"Stop being so flippant. I know you're scared, Lin."

"I don't get scared," she denied in a mumble, but she deliberately turned her face aside so he wouldn't see with his own eyes what a lie that was.

"Don't worry. My mom taught me some stuff. I'll take care of you."

"Tenzin, I've seen your idea of care-giving, so you'll forgive me if that reassurance doesn't fill me with confidence."

His lips turned up in a small smile, Tenzin reached over to smooth back tangled wisps of wet hair from her clammy forehead. "Right now, I'm all you have okay. Beggars can't be choosy, Lin." Extremely cognizant of the fact that they were still in danger and that remaining out in the open probably wasn't the wisest decision, Tenzin asked, "If I help you to stand, do you think you could walk?"

She smirked at him. "Do I have a choice?"

"Well, we could just hang out here on the bank and wait for those thugs to come after us again," he suggested dryly.

"Walking it is then."

Tenzin was incredibly careful as he assisted Lin to her feet. He flanked her on her uninjured side so as not to put more pressure on the already festering wound. As he looped her arm around his neck to support her lagging body, Tenzin could feel warmth begin to radiate from her skin and he knew what it meant. Lin was starting to spike a fever. He knew that he needed to pack her wound and find them shelter as soon as possible. Unfortunately, as he gradually became aware of faint shouts sounding in the distance, Tenzin wasn't sure if either thing was possible in the foreseeable future. The frightening thing was that he wasn't entirely sure Lin could wait.

"Come on," he encouraged her, shuffling them both along towards the trees, "If we can get deep enough into the forest, we can hide out there until they finally give up and go away."

"Tenzin, I'm sorry…" Lin mumbled unintelligibly, "I'm so sorry…I never meant for this to happen…"

"I know that."

"But I made such a mess of everything…and sorry… Sorry about this trip and sorry about Oogi…"

"Don't think about it," he urged her, "Just keep moving."

However, it became abundantly clear after a few hundred feet that Lin didn't have the stamina to go any further. She began sliding down his side, tripping over her own feet as her wobbly legs gave out from beneath her. "Rest for a second and then we'll pick up again if you can," he told her as he helped her ease down onto the forest floor.

"I…I don't think I can," she mumbled wearily, "I'm so tired."

"It's okay…it's okay, Lin…" he reassured her almost mechanically, "We'll figure something out."

"You know you can leave me here," she told him, "I won't blame you. We both know I probably won't make it out of here. Survival of the fittest and all that…"

Tenzin dismissed the suggestion with a low grunt. "Don't say stuff like that! Your fever is making you loopy."

She gripped his forearm in a surprisingly strong grip, her cloudy green eyes suddenly lucid as she stared up at him. "I'm being serious. If you stay with me then we both get caught."

He shrugged, the contours of his youthful face tight with resignation. "Then we both get caught."

"It's not worth it, Tenzin!"

"It's worth it to me!"

Lin wilted back into a bed of dried leaves and twigs, frustrated with him for being stubborn and with herself for lacking the strength to press on. And, as she usually did when she felt cornered, Lin lashed out. "I can't believe you're being so stupid right now! I figured at least the logical side of you would see the need for _one_ of us to get away, if for no other reason than to tell the story! What do you think is going to happen to you if those guys get their hands on you again?"

"I'll figure it out."

"No, you won't. And I can't save your butt this time, Tenzin! I can't even save my own. So stop being an idiot and get out of here!"

Tenzin didn't even flinch in response to her harsh words. In fact, he brushed them aside altogether. "Insulting me isn't going to make a bit of difference, Lin," he told her, "I'm still not leaving you. Get over it."

"How is staying here helping the situation?"

"I'm helping _you_."

"I'd leave you," she lied brazenly, "I'd be out of here so fast, you'd think I was bending air!"

He scoffed at that declaration. "No, you wouldn't."

"How can you be sure? You don't know me as well as you think," she challenged.

"I know you better than I know myself," he countered, "You wouldn't leave me, Lin."

For a moment she held her challenging glower and then, without warning, her expression crumpled in anguish. She regarded him with a wide, imploring stare. "Tenzin, please…" she whispered, abruptly switching from bravado to outright pleading, "You have to run. I don't want anything to happen to you. If something did then I would—,"

"Stop worrying about me and hush up for a second," he interrupted in a brusque tone tempered by affection, "I'm trying to think up our next move."

There weren't very many places for them to run. All around them were dense pockets of trees which seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. Escape would involve evasive maneuvers, agile turns and being fleet of foot to avoid the massive trunks and sturdy shoots of bamboo. Frankly, that wasn't an option. Lin definitely didn't have the strength to keep running, much less the endurance to bob and weave through clusters of trees.

It was an unfortunate realization because the reality was that they were still being hunted. Tenzin was pretty sure that their kidnappers would soon overtake them again if they didn't make some kind of progress. But he couldn't move Lin. She was already hazy and lethargic and, if her fever continued to escalate, Tenzin knew that delirium would soon follow.

Lin was sick and growing sicker. She needed someplace safe to heal and rest, but Tenzin didn't know how he would get that for her if they didn't move. Conversely, however, they couldn't move because Lin was too sick. It was a vicious circle and no matter what decision he made, the choice was going to suck. Overwhelmed and anxious, Tenzin turned his face towards the sky, as if asking the clouds for a sign, and suddenly found himself abnormally fascinated with the treetops swaying above their heads. And then he had an idea.

"So maybe we can't go forward anymore," he remarked to Lin in a cryptic tone as he bent to scoop her into his arms, "But that doesn't mean we can't go _up_."

Before Lin had fully discerned his intentions, Tenzin was already jumping up into the tree branches, leaping from one to another, bouncing higher and higher until they were deep enough within the foliage to be concealed from anyone who might be down on the ground below. "This is your bright idea?" Lin hissed dubiously after Tenzin had situated her onto a particularly sturdy branch and then perched himself on the one directly beneath it, "We're going to hide in a tree?"

"They're not going to look for us up here," he reassured her, "All we need to do is keep quiet and sit tight and we'll be safe." He tipped a glance up at her. "Besides, you got any better ideas?"

"Yeah, I do," she muttered, her words slightly slurred but no less forceful, "I told you to leave me, remember, and this was your brilliant alternative."

"Well, that was never an option."

"Maybe not for _you_," Lin countered wearily.

"Oh please," Tenzin groaned in long-suffering, "I thought we were done with that argument."

"Would that make you happy, Tenzin?" she asked a little too sweetly.

Tenzin turned a wary glance up at her. "Well…yeah, it would."

"Then nope, we're not done with it."

He shook his head in mild exasperation. "How is it that you can be so sick and still be such a pain in the neck?" he grumbled.

"Eh, it's a gift."

"Aren't I the lucky one?"

"Hey, you had your chance to escape but you chose otherwise."

"Would you drop it already?" he huffed, "It's a crazy idea and you know it! Do you really think for one second that I would leave you, Lin?"

She shook her head and leaned back into the rough tree bark. "No, I don't. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't," she muttered, "I'm not stupid, Tenzin. I'm really sick and there's no one around to help me get better. This isn't going to… What I mean is that… I'm probably going to d—,"

"Don't!" he flared sharply, "Don't you dare say it!"

"I'm trying to be realistic."

"Just stop talking, Lin!"

But she didn't. She couldn't. Now that she had allowed herself to entertain the fear, she couldn't stop herself from playing out the scenario to its conclusion. "If you keep trying to help me, I'm only going to slow you down and, in the end, it's going to be a waste of time! Don't you want to go back home and see your parents again? Don't you want to get your airbending tattoos? You've got a whole life ahead of you, Tenzin!"

"So do you!" he retorted, "I don't want to have this conversation at all!"

"One of us has to be reasonable."

Tenzin snorted. "And that's _you_? Since when?"

"You're just mad because you know I'm right."

"No, I'm mad because you're being ridiculous!" he tossed back, "What kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned you to save myself?"

"It's my fault you're in this mess," she argued, "It's my fault that you lost Oogi."

"Don't think about it," he reiterated and he couldn't be sure if he was saying the words for Lin's benefit or his own.

"How can I not think about it? He's your bison, Tenzin! I know how much you love him," Lin cried, "What if you never see him again? Haven't you already lost enough because of me?"

"I thought you said that we would find him eventually," Tenzin reminded her, "Or that he would find us. You were adamant about it."

"I only said that because I knew you wouldn't leave with me otherwise," Lin confessed softly.

"I know," he replied with equal softness, "Just like I know that I'm never going to see him again." He angled yet another glance up at her. "I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't hurt or that it's not hard because Oogi has been with me since he was born. I knew the moment I saw him that he was mine. And I'm going to miss him. But that doesn't mean I blame you for what happened, Lin, because I don't."

"I wish you did. I wish you hated me…then maybe you'd leave me."

"Stop talking," he ordered her again, "You're tired and you're scared and it's making you irrational. Try to get some rest, okay?" Tenzin reached up to grope around for her hand and when he found it he gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. "I need you as much as you need me, Lin. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here with me now."

"Me too," she managed to choke a few seconds later.

"So enough with all the leaving talk," Tenzin said, "It's not going to happen."

"Okay," Lin whispered, "I'm going to get some sleep now. I'm really tired."

He closed his eyes, both relieved and worried by her feeble admission. "Good idea. Just don't fall out of the tree…because that would suck."

After tipping a drowsy, appraising glance down at the ground far below, Lin laughed in spite of herself. "Finally something we agree on." However, an instant before fatigue completely overwhelmed her and her eyes could droop completely, she whispered, "Hey, Tenzin?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you stayed. Thanks for not leaving me because _that_ would have sucked."

He grunted a small chuckle at that. "Yeah, I knew you were full of it, Lin."

An hour later Tenzin was still watching her doze fitfully when the faint strains of muted conversation began to drift up to him through the canopy of leaves. He tensed, recognizing that someone was loitering directly below them. It took him only a few minutes to assimilate their identity. Just as he had expected, their kidnappers hadn't yet given up the search for them.

Reluctant to move or even breathe for fear he would alert the thieves to his and Lin's hiding place, Tenzin slowly raised his arm to nudge Lin awake. Before she could grumble a complaint over being awakened, he quickly pressed his index finger to his lips, indicating that she should keep quiet before pointing meaningfully towards the ground. With a hammering heart, she nodded in understanding, careful to keep her body perfectly still and straight.

"…no sign of them," Tenzin made out just barely, "They must have gotten away." He leaned in closer, straining to hear.

"They're on foot and the girl is injured. They couldn't have gotten far." Tenzin and Lin recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to the firebender who served as the ringleader of the gang. "Keep searching."

"It was a long drop off that cliff," his companion argued, "What if they didn't survive the jump?"

"The kid's an airbender," the leader said, "He survived the jump."

A new voice joined the dispute, this one trembling with fear and uncertainty. "I don't like this. I think we should cut our losses. We're fooling around with the Avatar's kid here. It's not a good idea."

"Jin is right," said yet another voice, and Tenzin recognized it as the dart thrower who had initiated the attack on him and Lin back at their camp, "We've already turned a nice profit from the bison. That merchant from Omashu paid a pretty penny for him. We'll be set for a while."

"No! I want those kids!" the firebender grated out, "At this point, it's not about the money. It's about control and authority. Nobody makes a fool out of me! We keep searching! I want those little brats found!"

Tenzin and Lin traded a grim look at the determined pronouncement, realizing with gathering dread that they had inadvertently made themselves an enemy.

* * *

Aang stormed up onto the platform without a bit of preamble, his obvious anger creating a hushed rumble among the crowd. "Where did you get this bison?" he demanded fiercely, "And what have you done with my son?"

"I beg your pardon!" the merchant blustered, "This is an auction and you are completely disrupting my transaction! I realize that you are the Avatar and perhaps things are done a bit differently in Republic City, but I am conducting business here! I demand that you respect…hey, what do you think you're doing? Don't you dare touch him unless you're prepared to purchase him, sir!"

Largely ignoring the man's affronted ranting and raving, Aang stooped to attend to a whimpering Oogi. He lovingly sifted his fingers through the sky bison's matted fur, soothing him and inspecting him for injuries at the same time. Aang wasn't happy with what he found. In addition to the ringed lacerations around Oogi's ankles where the iron manacles cut into his flesh, Aang also found several spots of blistered hide, where Oogi's fur had been completely burned away. He groaned inwardly at the sight of Oogi's injuries.

It didn't take much effort to discern that the animal had been severely mistreated. Even under his loving and careful touch, Aang could feel Oogi tremble and flinch. He swallowed down the lump of sorrow that formed in his throat. But his pity was accompanied by another emotion as well…overwhelming fear. Aang shuddered to think that if Oogi had been abused so callously, then what on earth had become Tenzin and Lin?

With that grim question niggling at him, Aang began quickly bending away the metal bonds holding Oogi, unable to stand the thought of him being chained any longer. Oogi needed a healer. He needed _Katara_. Somewhere on the fringes of his consciousness, Aang realized that he couldn't help his son. Not right now. But he could help Oogi…and in some way he was doing it _for_ Tenzin because Tenzin couldn't do it himself.

However, the merchant, stunned and infuriated by Aang's audacity, howled in outrage over being ignored and charged the Avatar. With no thought beyond protecting his monetary interests, the man clamped a hand onto Aang's shoulder and yanked him backwards with the demand that Aang keep his hands off "his property." That was the final straw for Aang. In the wake of two days worth of constant fear, anxiety and exhaustion, his patience was obliterated in an instant.

With a low, menacing snarl, he surged to his feet and whipped around to face the merchant. The man recognized his error in judgment only moments before Aang yanked him up by the lapels of his tunic and shook him so hard his teeth rattled. "Tell me what you did with my son!" he bit out, "Where is he? Answer me right now!"

"I…I have no idea wh-what y-you're t…talking about!" the merchant managed in between Aang's violent yanking, "Unhand me, sir!"

"You have about two seconds to tell me where you've taken my son or I won't be responsible for what I do to you!" Aang warned from between clenched teeth.

That threat mobilized the astonished crowd of onlookers and signaled that the time had come for them to flee. Hoards of people scattered frantically for cover, while a brave, curious few concealed themselves but remained close enough in order to witness the unfolding confrontation from afar. Whether they ran or they lingered, however, everyone present seemed to sense that an angry Avatar was a dangerous one, most especially the merchant.

His eyes flared wide with fear as Aang continued to jerk him to and fro like a rag doll. He did his best to pry Aang's hands from his person, but it seemed like the Avatar's hands were manacled into his shirtfront. There was no escape.

"Huang! Huang!" he cried out, his eyes darting frantically among the dispersing throng for a glimpse of his bodyguard, "I need a little help over here!"

When salvation arrived, the entire city square seemed to fall into an awed hush. Huang was not a small man. In fact, big seemed like too inadequate an adjective to describe an individual who more resembled a mountain than a man. He looked to be made of pure muscle, so massive that he even made the assassin who had once hunted Aang across the Fire Nation look puny. The man was abnormally tall, with wide, solid chest that actually blocked out the sun when he stepped forward, a neck that was thick and sturdy like a tree log and fists the size of small boulders. In comparison to that, Aang looked rather small and insignificant. And if the body guard's warning growl was any indication that was _exactly_ how he saw Aang as well.

The merchant flicked a meaningful glance towards Aang's hands, which still gripped the front of his tunic with white-knuckled force. "Do you mind taking care of this for me, please?"

Far from intimidated, Aang flung him away then and turned to face Huang with a heavy sigh. "You don't want to do this," he warned Huang simply, "I have no quarrel with you. This is a matter between me and your employer. If you leave now then you won't put me in the position to have to hurt you."

As far as Aang was concerned, his request was thoughtful, rational and extremely benevolent. As far as Huang was concerned, however, the words were arrogant and made of pure challenge. When he stomped the ground and punched out a wedge of earth, Aang mentally rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long day.

With a deft flick of his wrist, Aang disintegrated the boulder into nothingness before it could make contact and then fluidly whirled from beneath the follow-up attack. In a series of turns and flips, Aang sailed over his assailant's head with the elegance and skill of an acrobat, seemingly unperturbed by the rapid fire series of earthen attacks that followed him. He bounced about on a current of air, withholding his own fire and instead opting to wait for his opponent to tire himself out.

At the rate that Huang the bodyguard was going, it seemed that wouldn't take very long. He relied heavily on brute strength to make his driving assaults. While his attacks were powerful, they were also clunky and predictable. However, what the bodyguard lacked in grace and finesse, he made up for in strength and perseverance. And despite his hulking form, he moved with a surprising agility as he attempted, again and again, to subdue and pin Aang down. True to his airbender roots, however, Aang avoided and evaded, facilely ducking and dodging the earthbender's assault in lieu returning fire and, all the while, he tried to reason with him.

"This isn't necessary! I'm trying to find my son!" he said, "If you don't stop attacking, this is only going to end badly for you!"

And like a self-fulfilling prophecy, that was exactly what happened. One moment, Huang was drawing back in fist in preparation for another attack and then next he was being dinged in the head from the snapping force of Sokka's whirling boomerang. As the giant reeled and stumbled and tried to shake off that dizzying blow Katara manacled him around the neck in the lashing grip of her water whip. She yanked hard and he went toppling to the ground like a felled tree.

There was no time to react to that sneak attack either because before the bodyguard even had a chance to _try _and recover, Toph had him shackled to the ground by his wrists and ankles with sturdy bands of earth. Once he was down, she secured him further by anchoring him to the ground with metal ropes. She threaded them down through the earth and up around his body and back again until the coils had wrapped his entire frame.

"That should hold him for a while," she said, "He's not getting up again until I want him to."

Aang righted himself with a longsuffering groan as Sokka surveyed Toph's handiwork with a low whistle of appreciation. When he was finished murmuring his awe to her, he then regarded Aang with a single raised eyebrow and commented drolly, "So, I leave you alone for five seconds…"

"I had it under control," Aang told them.

"Yeah, that's totally what it looked like a minute ago," Katara remarked sardonically as she closed the distance between them, "What exactly did you do, Aang? I thought you were supposed to be showing the kids' posters around. How did you manage to get into a fight in that short period of time?"

"That's Twinkle Toes for ya," Toph interjected with a mirthless smirk, "spreading love wherever he goes."

Some two hundred feet away, the merchant watched the exchange and recognized his chance for escape. Utilizing the Avatar's momentary distraction with the arrival of his friends, the merchant quickly ducked out from beneath his hiding place and make a run for it. He hadn't taken three steps before Aang was alerted of his intentions.

"And where do you think you're going?" he demanded right before he sent a shaft of earth rocketing in his direction. Seconds later he was encased up to his neck, immobile and trapped.

Startled by Aang's uncharacteristic show of aggression, Katara started to question him about his actions, but her intention was forgotten when she finally recognized a mewling Oogi situated on the platform not too far away. She squinted in disbelief, already drifting closer as she asked, "That's not…is that _Oogi_?"

Aang jerked a nod and pointed towards the merchant. "I walked up on that guy over there trying to sell him," he explained briefly, but when Katara whirled back to face him, her eyes flared wide with hope, he added sadly, "Lin and Tenzin weren't with him, Katara. I was trying to get answers out of the guy when he decided to send his thug after me."

In an instant, Toph's cool, tough exterior slipped, revealing the anxiety churning just beneath the surface. "So he hasn't told you anything at all? You don't know where to find Lin and Tenzin?"

An undeniable feeling of failure closely followed Toph's rapidly fired questions and, with a great deal of self-flagellation and regret, Aang shook his head. "No. Not yet."

Although, disappointed and frightened, Toph once again masked her emotions behind a professional exterior. She couldn't fall apart because if she did that then it meant that the situation was truly bad. And Toph simply could not acknowledge her worst fears. She couldn't afford to fall apart, not when her daughter needed her to be strong and capable and determined. Consequently, Toph did what she always did…she ignored the pangs of her maternal instincts in order to do what needed to be done.

"We should question him now," she determined brusquely, "If he knows where Lin and Tenzin are then we'll get it out of him."

As she and Sokka made their way over to the immobilized man, Aang snagged hold of Katara's forearm before she could move to join them. "I know you want answers and I'm not trying to get in the way of that," he murmured in preface, "but Oogi's hurt right now."

"He is?" Katara gasped, trying hard not to think of the implications for Tenzin and Lin, "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," Aang confirmed, "Do you think you could you heal him, Katara? If this guy doesn't give us any answers then Oogi is going to be our best chance of finding him…and he won't be able to do that if he's in no shape to help us look."

"But I want to be a part of this, Aang!" Katara insisted fiercely, "If that man knows what's happened to Tenzin, then I want to hear him say the words!"

The anger and frustration in her tone was palpable. Aang sympathized with her. If the merchant was indirectly or directly responsible for their son's disappearance, Katara had every right to confront him. He wasn't surprised that she felt that way because he felt the same. Unfortunately, Oogi was in dire need of medical attention and Katara was the only one with the ability to help him. He told her as much.

"I know it's not fair and it's not right, but it is what it is, Katara."

For a minute it seemed as if she might argue with him. Her body was tensed for battle, but then she deflated abruptly and slumped forward with heavy sigh. Katara fully recognized the logic behind Aang's request and because she did it was difficult to refuse him. Finally, she inclined her head in a terse nod.

"Okay. I'll take care of Oogi," she told him, "You find out what happened to our kids, Aang. Don't let up until he tells you what he knows."

After vowing to her that he would do just that, Aang went to join Sokka and Toph. Already, Sokka was mid-interrogation and picking apart the nuances of the merchant's story. "…so you mean to tell me," he was reiterating dubiously, "that you bought the bison from some guy who claimed to have found him abandoned in the wilderness? It was all perfectly honest and legal? Is that what you're telling me?"

"I swear it's the truth!" the merchant cried, "I didn't know anything about it being stolen! And I definitely don't know anything about any missing children either! I'm innocent!"

"Somehow, I doubt that," Toph interjected, "You're not innocent, not by a long shot. You knew very well that bison was stolen because it's not the first time you've purchased stolen goods, is it?"

"I…I'd rather not speak without legal representation present," the man stammered.

"Oh, he knew it, alright," Sokka grunted humorlessly, "Otherwise, why attack Aang at all?" He leveled the merchant with a penetrating stare. "You got something to hide?"

"I didn't kidnap anyone!" the merchant maintained, "I've done nothing wrong!"

"You assaulted the Avatar, stole his property and attempted to kill him," Toph numerated concisely, "That's a far cry from 'nothing!' And you see, we're very good friends with the Earth King. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to acquaint you with his prison hold…say for the next few decades or so?"

"Okay, okay…I'll talk!" the man rushed out, acutely aware of Aang's dark glare burning a hole into him, "Maybe I did know that the bison was stolen and maybe I was okay with that, _but_… I never knew who it belonged to and I didn't know where it had come from! I certainly didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar's son!"

The denials and excuses made very little difference to Aang. He wanted answers. "Who sold him to you?" he enunciated coldly.

"A…a man named Hong," the merchant babbled, "I do business with him from time to time…whenever I'm here in Ba Sing Se. He specializes in rare goods."

"And where can we find this Hong?" Toph asked curtly.

"I…I'm not sure. He's a drifter. I don't know much about him! He always finds me! When he offered to sell me the bison, I knew I couldn't pass up such an exceptional find. I…I thought he was going to bring me a lot of money…much more than what I paid for him!"

"Didn't you wonder at all why this guy was so willing to part with it?" Toph queried.

"Or even consider that the only people in the world known to own sky bison happened to be _airbenders_?" Sokka followed up, "If you didn't at least suspect at some point that bison belonged to the Avatar then you've got rocks for brains!"

"I'm trying to make a living here!" the man cried defensively, "I didn't ask questions!"

It took every bit of self-control he had, but Aang resisted the urge to throttle the man. "I'll bet you didn't."

"It's the truth!" the merchant insisted in a desperate rush, "Hong…he said it was too big for him to care for and…and that he thought I might be interested in taking it off his hands," the man went on to explain, "I didn't realize the animal was injured until after I got him out of the pen and inspected him."

"And then you knew you had to unload him and fast because an injured bison would raise too many suspicions about how you got your hands on him in the first place!" Sokka concluded in a harsh tone. He drew his sword from its sheath and laid the blade against the man's throat. "Tell us where we can find Hong!"

By now the merchant was weeping hysterical tears. "I told you I don't know! I can tell you what he looks like! I can tell you our usual meeting place! But that's all I know! Please don't kill me! Please…"

Aang sneered at his denial. "You're lying to us!"

"Actually, he's not lying," Toph intervened softly, "He's frightened and he's enough of a lying weasel to say anything if he thinks it will save his butt, but he's not doing that now. He honestly doesn't know where to find him, Aang."

Sokka leaned in close to the blubbering man. "Where did you buy the bison?"

"Near the city wall," the merchant wept, "Sometime late last night or early this morning. We made the exchange when it was dark so there wouldn't be too many witnesses!"

"Where did he go afterwards?" Aang ground out, "Is he still in the city?"

"N-No…" the man sniffled, "Hong never stays in the city. He likes to keep a low profile. He…he went his way and I went mine." The merchant bounced desperate, imploring eyes between Sokka, Aang and Toph. "What are you going to do with me?" he asked fearfully.

"Oh you're going to prison for a long time," Toph told him without reserve, "But, if we find out that you haven't given us the whole truth, prison will be the _least_ of your worries. Trust me."

"So what does all of this mean?"

At Katara's quivering query, Sokka, Aang and Toph whirled to face her. She stood there, clutching the folds of her tunic in a white-knuckled grip, as if she knew exactly what they were about to tell her, but was in denial at the same time. It was extremely difficult for Sokka and Aang to meet her eyes and read the dread and devastation darkening their blue depths. "Well?" she pressed impatiently, "Answer me! What does it mean?"

When both men seemed reluctant to answer her question, Toph squared her shoulders and did what they couldn't do. "It means whoever took Lin and Tenzin are already long gone from Ba Sing Se by now," she said, "So we can either wait for this Hong guy to make contact again our blubbering friend over here…_or_ we can try to find the kids on our own."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

It was approaching the evening hours when Tenzin finally felt it was safe enough for him and Lin to leave their hiding place. Then sun hadn't yet sunk completely beyond the horizon, but the sky was already emblazoned with wide orange streaks which would soon become interspersed with the purple signaling nightfall. That was not good. Because in the time they had been forced to remain in the tree, Lin's condition had worsened considerably. Her fever was so high that the heat practically radiated off her skin.

Although she was still conscious, her flesh had taken on a flushed, almost toxic appearance. And her wide green eyes, which were typically speculative and alert, were now bloodshot and glassy. She responded to Tenzin's prompts as he tried to coax her upright and into his arms, but he wasn't entirely certain about how lucid she was when she did because her movements were so lethargic and uncoordinated. Tenzin was worried and more scared than he'd ever been in his entire life, but he tried not to show that as he scooped Lin into his arms and floated down from among the tree branches. Once they touched the ground, he set Lin back on her feet but wasn't surprised when she leaned into him heavily.

"So what do we do now?" she mumbled tiredly, "Should we move deeper into the forest? I can press on if we need to, Tenzin."

He was both surprised by her question and her offer, not because it didn't make sense or because he didn't think Lin was being sincere but because he hadn't imagined Lin was coherent enough to strategize at all. Then again, Tenzin didn't know why he was surprised. Lin had always been an incredibly strong-willed person. Somehow, while adversity managed to beat down others, Lin Beifong excelled under it. Hardship fueled her. She would fight her sickness as long as she had the strength and determination to do so. She would fight until the very end because that was who she was.

Feeling both strangely proud and mournful with the knowledge, Tenzin kept his features inscrutable when he said, "It's probably a good idea to get as far away from this spot as we can before we lose all the light. We're going to need to camp out here tonight and then move on once morning comes." He squinted up at the dwindling sun before regarding her again. "I'll try to pick up some stuff for a fire along the way as well as some other supplies we might need."

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Lin muttered, "What could you possibly find that's useful?"

"Trust me," he replied with a small smile, "You'd be surprised."

Truthfully, what he needed above all else was water. With Lin's rising fever, it was a foregone conclusion that she would become dehydrated and rapidly too. Unfortunately, returning to the river was definitely out of the question. In all likelihood their newfound "friends" had made camp there and Tenzin knew they couldn't risk crossing paths with them, especially with Lin so ill. There was also the very real threat of wild animals. It was much too dangerous to backtrack. But then there were also unknown perils that lay ahead of them. No matter what direction they traveled in it was going to be a struggle.

Tenzin silently fretted about over all the ways they could possibly run into trouble while also worrying about Lin as he helped her limp along the forest. She shuffled alongside him indomitably, but the effort was clearly sapping what remained of her dwindling strength. Along the way, she was allowed some brief periods of respite while Tenzin darted off intermittently to gather fallen branches, edible berries and different herbs along the trail as well as several small stones to be used for kindling the fire later.

When he was younger, he had gone on many camping trips with his family. His mother had taught him and his siblings the necessary survival skills to withstand a night out in the open while his father had instilled in them with the ability and desire to harmonize with their surroundings, to blend in and become one with the elements. As a result, Tenzin wasn't completely worried about spending the night in the forest. He knew how to ward off predatory animals and avoid trouble spots. He was quite capable of foraging for food and finding shelter.

His primary concern was Lin. He could look at her and tell how sick she was. It didn't matter if she didn't complain or she brushed aside her symptoms. The raging infection was slowly shutting down her body and Tenzin knew it. She needed help and truthfully there was none to be had. Tenzin didn't talk about it. He didn't even really want to think about it. But the grim implications were continually flirting at the edges of his consciousness.

"How are you doing?" he asked some time later when they finally found a spot to bed down for the night, "Are you hurting still?"

Lin carefully scooted up against a tree trunk and watched while Tenzin began the fire. "My head is throbbing a little, but other than that…I actually don't hurt at all," she revealed in a weak whisper. Her eyes rolled shut as she took a rough swallow and darted out her tongue to wet her dry, cracked lips. "I'm just tired…" She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "…and really cold…"

Strangely enough, the reassurance that she _wasn't_ in pain only heightened Tenzin's anxiety. A lack of pain could mean that Lin's body was beginning to prepare itself for death. Tenzin shuddered inwardly at the thought. "I'll get the fire going soon, Lin," he reassured her.

Because he could do nothing else for her, Tenzin became literally obsessed with doing that one task. He flicked the two flinty rocks together again and again, praying for a spark and cursing himself for the first time in his life for not being a firebender. Finally, after nearly twenty minutes of perseverance, Tenzin coaxed the first flickering flames of a fire into life. He quickly nourished it with the tree branches and dried leaves he'd collected on the trail before, fanning it so that it would grow larger.

When he was satisfied, he swiveled around to regard Lin. "Better?"

She offered him a weak smile. "Much." Despite her reply, however, Tenzin couldn't ignore that she still continued to tremble. He scooted closer to press his hand to her forehead. As he expected, her skin was blistering hot. Lin rolled a wary glance up at him. "You're worried about me, aren't you?"

"Not even little," he scoffed. "You're too ornery to let a little infection get you down." Careful not to betray the worry he felt, Tenzin asked lightly, "Do you have the strength to erect an earth tent for the night?"

She smirked at him and in that brief flash he saw a glimpse of the old Lin and she was as droll and defiant as ever. He found himself smiling back at her as she smacked the ground with her hand and produced two sliding slabs of earth that intersected one another and met to form a triangle. Lin regarded him with an arched eyebrow. "That good enough for you, captain?" she teased.

He nudged her shoulder playfully before turning away to gather the herbal leaves he had collected earlier for her wound. "Very good," he praised softly as he began applying them to her skin, "You could have made it a bit bigger, but I won't complain." While Lin grumbled in response to that, Tenzin worked diligently and explained to her what he was doing and why. "These leaves have special properties that will help you get better. Shortly after the war, my mom became interested in all the different types of healing. This is a Fire Nation technique. She learned it from General Iroh…you know…Zuko's uncle. He taught her that there are some herbs that help to rid the body of toxins and promote healing. Later, she taught the same techniques and a few others to Kya and me."

"What about Bumi? Didn't he learn?"

Tenzin rolled his eyes at the question. "Bumi?" he snorted, "Oh, you know how he is. He could care less about this kind of stuff. He thinks it's 'woman's work.'"

Lin grunted a laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like him." A second later, however, her humor faded abruptly, leaving her sober and introspective. "I miss your brother, Tenzin," she confessed softly, "I miss Republic City. I miss my room and my bed. I miss Oogi. And mostly…I miss my mom."

"Yeah," he agreed gruffly after taking a moment to regain his voice, "I know what you mean."

"I'm not going to see her again, am I?"

Tenzin faltered in his ministrations, his hands shaking violently. He couldn't bring himself to look at her because he feared he would burst into tears on the spot. "Lin, don't…" he choked, "…don't say stuff like that."

She laid her hand against his forearm, stilling his careful ministrations. It took Tenzin an inordinately long time to gather the courage to lift his head and meet her eyes. When he did, he saw that they were filled with resignation and sorrow. Despite all his determination not to, he started to cry.

"It's okay," she whispered, gently whisking away his falling tears with her fingertips, "I know it doesn't look good for me. I know I'm not going to make it out of this forest."

"Stop it!" he cried sharply, "You are going to make it out of here. At first light, I'm going for help. I won't let anything happen to you, Lin."

Too exhausted to argue with him, Lin leaned back into the tree and closed her eyes. "Just promise me that no matter what happens, you won't blame yourself, Tenzin," she murmured tiredly, "Please…promise…"

"I won't make you that promise because it's not necessary."

"Why are you always so stubborn?" she groaned.

"Why are you?"

She pinned him with an intense glare. "It's my fault that we're here now. I'm responsible for every bad thing that's happened to us, not you!"

He shook his head to refute that. "That's not true. I should have reasoned with you more," he lamented, "I…I should have done a better job of protecting you."

Lin's straight black eyebrows snapped together in a deep frown. "You're lucky I'm so sick…" she grumbled, "…otherwise I'd punch you hard for that comment. For your information, I don't need anyone protecting me, Tenzin, least of all _you_!"

Despite the fact she was irritated with him, Tenzin still smiled to hear the fire in her tone. There was still fight in her yet. It made him hopeful that Lin wouldn't succumb easily to the sickness and fever currently ravaging her body. Perhaps she would make it until morning. Perhaps she would hold on until he could find her help. Tenzin clung to that fragile hope securely.

"You're right, Lin. I'm sorry," he murmured, resuming his task, "You don't need me to protect you and you never have. The truth is it's the other way around. I'm the one who needs _you_ to protect _me_."

"That's right," she murmured affectionately, using the limited reserves of strength she had to pat the stubbly top of his head, "and don't you ever forget it."

Later on, after they'd had a handful of berries to serve as their meager dinner, Tenzin helped Lin crawl into the shelter she had erected for them earlier, but he didn't join her. Instead, he scooted next to the fire and watched her fall into a fitful sleep, splitting his attention between caring for her and providing kindling for the flames. He was still sitting there, silently willing the dawn of the next morning when he suddenly became aware of Lin muttering under her breath. By the time he had ducked inside the tent to investigate, her breathing was labored and rattling and she was crying out in her sleep.

Concerned, Tenzin crawled over her contorting form to gauge her body temperature. Her clothes were soaking wet, as if her fever had broken and was now spiking anew. Without warning, Lin's eyes shot wide open. Tenzin's horrified gasp was drowned out by her whimpering moans of delirium. It was clear from the glazed sheen in her eyes that she wasn't really seeing anything. She was confused and disoriented. In that feverish and frantic state, she desperately gripped the front of his shirt and mewled for her mother.

"Mom! Mom, please!" she cried out in a quivering voice, "It's so dark here! I can't be here without you! Please…please don't leave me in the dark…"

Her terrified whimpering tore Tenzin apart emotionally. He didn't know to what place her mind had taken her, but he knew that wherever it was Lin was terrified. Right then it didn't matter that she didn't recognize him. It didn't matter that she was very obviously not oriented to the present or even reality for that matter. What was most important was that she needed her mother's comfort and love. She needed to feel safe. Tenzin was absolutely determined to give it to her, especially in light of the fact that he could give her little else.

"You're not in the dark, Lin," he reassured her in a soothing tone, huddling behind her shivering body and pulling her close, "You're safe. I'm right here with you."

She grasped his forearm in a surprisingly strong grip. "I'm cold…I'm scared…" she whimpered, "…don't leave me, Mom…"

"I won't," he promised her again and again, stroking her shoulder, her hair, doing whatever he could do to calm her growing agitation, "You're safe. You're okay. I'm right here." Finally, she began to relax in his arms though she continued to quake violently with chills. It was only when she was settled and still, however, that Tenzin realized he was crying.

"I'm sorry, Mom…" Lin whispered as she began to drop off into oblivion once more, "I'm so, so sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't hate you. Please don't hate me…"

"I don't hate you, Lin," Tenzin sobbed quietly, his tears bleeding into her tangled hair as he held her fast, "I love you. I love you more than anything…"

* * *

When Sokka entered the royal stables he found Appa soothing Oogi with paternal nuzzles while his sister was busying herself bending the remnants of her healing water back into their skins. He leaned against the entrance, propping his shoulder against the frame to regard her speculatively. "So…" he drawled, startling her upright with the sound of his voice, "how's Oogi doing?"

Katara straightened and turned to regard him with a weary sigh. "He's on the mend," she said, "I'm hoping he'll be ready to fly by the morning but I'm not sure we should push him. Whoever took him did a real number on him. We probably should wait a few days more for his sake."

As if he understood the gist of Katara's declaration, Oogi began to snort and stomp in protest. Sokka appraised the sky bison with a surprised glance. "It seems to me that Oogi disagrees with that diagnosis. I think he's ready to go, Katara."

"Hmm, yeah…" she murmured, reaching over to stroke the agitated bison and calm him, "He's missing Tenzin right now and he's worried about him." She pressed her face into Oogi's furry flank. "Aren't we all?"

"Well, if it helps to know, Aang and Toph are down with the guy right now," Sokka told her, "He's already provided them with a detailed physical description of Hong and Kuei's artists are working on the sketches as we speak. Pretty soon we'll have Hong's face plastered all over Ba Sing Se! We're going to catch this guy, Katara."

"Really? You think so?" Katara muttered dubiously, "Our only lead happens to be a thief and a liar. You'll forgive me if I don't feel reassured."

"He's the best chance we have right now."

Katara made a face at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better, Sokka?"

"I'm only trying to remind you that the situation isn't completely hopeless."

"Thanks so much for that," came Katara's sardonic retort, "Are you finished cheering me up or do you have more good news to share?"

Rather than taking offense at her mocking tone, Sokka strode forward and plucked her by the elbow. "Okay, that's enough of that," he said, leading her over to a wooden bench located in the furthest corner of the stable. He nudged her down on the seat and then folded down beside her. "Alright," he sighed, "Lay it on me."

Katara threw him an exasperated look. "Lay what on you?"

"Whatever it is that's eating you and making you so crabby."

She compressed her lips into a grim line. "You mean a missing son isn't reason enough?"

"Settle down now. I'm not saying that," Sokka rushed out, "I'm only remarking on the fact that you seem…touchier than usual and I was wondering if there was something more going on with you. What is it? Are you getting anxious because it's taking Oogi so long to get better? Or are you scared we won't find Lin and Tenzin?"

"Of course I'm scared, Sokka!" she cried impatiently, "The kids are out there somewhere probably being terrorized by a band of criminals while we sit here with our hands tied! And even if Oogi didn't need time to heal, we would still be helpless because we have no idea where to find them! Who knows what could be happening to them right now…or what's already happened…"

"Katara, you can't think that way."

Instead of being comforted by the tender words, Katara was infuriated instead. She whirled to her feet and fixed her brother with an irate glare. "Oh yeah? Why can't I, Sokka? Why can't I think that way?"

He blinked up at her, surprised by anger. "It's not productive."

She bit out a short, humorless laugh at his reply. "Oh wow! How did I know you were going to say that, huh? You sound _exactly_ like Aang! Who cares if it's productive or not? This is _my_ reality! It's my son's reality!" She slumped forward in the wake of her outburst, her shoulders rocking with the force of her undammed sobs. "I try not to think about it…" she wept, "I really do…but I can't help it. I'm scared, Sokka. I'm so scared for him."

"I know," he murmured, rising to his feet to draw her into his arms, "I know you are. But we're going to find them, Katara. They're going to be okay."

Unfortunately, after two days of dead ends and a cold trail, to Katara the reassurance sounded hollow. She stiffened in Sokka's arms and shrugged from his embrace. "Everyone keeps saying that, but the words don't mean anything!" she countered hysterically, "Days have gone by and we still have nothing! What if we _don't_ find them, Sokka? What if they're _not_ okay? What if they're scared or hurt? What if…what if they're _dead_?"

Sokka sucked in a strained breath at the brutal query, feeling as if the wind had been literally knocked from his chest. Katara flinched guiltily over his anguished reaction but she couldn't bring herself to retract the question. It had been a secret fear that had been rolling around in her gut ever since they discovered that the kids hadn't made it to Ba Sing Se. Finding Oogi had only heightened that fear. And as horrible and harsh as it was to voice that dreadful prospect aloud, in some odd way it was cathartic as well. Somehow hearing the words echo in her own ears freed her and made her less afraid. The unspoken and unknown had wielded more power over her than anything else.

Katara studied her brother's pale features from beneath the canopy of her lashes. "Don't act like you haven't thought about it too," she mumbled gruffly.

He dropped his eyes. "I…I try not to."

"So do I," she whispered, "I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is to try _not_ to think about it. But the fear is with me every second of every day. I can't talk to Aang about what I'm feeling either because he thinks that we should 'keep our thoughts positively focused and not get caught up in worst case scenarios,'" she recited with a thread of bitterness, "Whenever I try and mention the possibility that Tenzin might be hurt or…or… That we need to _consider_ it at least…he completely shuts down on me. I feel like I'm on my own."

"Maybe he's not ready to deal with it," Sokka said, "Maybe you're not ready to deal with it either, Katara."

"Maybe I'm not," she admitted hoarsely, "but I don't know if I can pretend like everything is going to work out okay either…because I don't know that, Sokka. I don't feel it."

"I suppose we need to be realistic about the situation, don't we?"

"Oogi was stolen and mistreated," Katara recounted woodenly, "I know Tenzin would have never let him go without a fight. And now he and Lin are missing. I don't care what their original plan was, with Oogi gone Tenzin would have contacted us by now if he was able, but he hasn't done that."

"And you think that's because he can't."

Katara sank down onto the bench once more. "Nothing else makes sense to me," she mumbled in a miserable underbreath, "I know that Lin and Tenzin can take care of themselves. We've taught them well. Tenzin knows how to survive out in the open and I've never seen a kid scrappier than Lin…well except maybe Toph."

"Like mother, like daughter," Sokka murmured wryly.

A small smile ghosted Katara's lips briefly before her expression became somber and introspective once more. "I keep telling myself that Tenzin and Lin both are exceptional benders. They're smart and they're quick on their feet. But, when all of that is stripped away, they are still children and they need our protection.

"So when I think about the things that might have happened to them…things I should have prevented…" She faltered off into silence with a horrified shudder. "I'm so terrified that I'm never going to see my son again."

Sokka sat down beside her and placed a commiserating hand on her shoulder. "What can I say to make this better for you, Katara?"

"There's nothing you can say," she sniffled, "But talking about it definitely helps. It's enough that you're willing to listen to me. That's more than Aang is willing to do these days."

"Are you saying that he's not open to discuss it at all?"

Katara shrugged. "I know he's not being deliberately insensitive," she sighed in a suffocated tone, "In fact, he's trying very hard to be supportive and for the most part he is, but… When it comes to talking about the really hard stuff, you know…contemplating what we're truly dealing with here…he can't do it. He won't do it, Sokka, and that's been very frustrating for me."

"Because you need to talk about your feelings," Sokka concluded softly.

"And his feelings too," Katara added, "I need to know what he's thinking about all of this, not just what he thinks I need to hear or what he thinks I can handle! I'm not that fragile! I'm not going to shatter into a million pieces. I know that we can get through this if we do it together. I just…I need him so much right now, Sokka."

"Okay, I know I'm not Aang," he prefaced carefully, "but I'm still your brother and I love you very much, Katara. If you need to get some things off your chest, I'll listen to you. We'll talk about whatever you want."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked him, "I know that this isn't easy for you to talk about either."

"If you need to talk about it, then I'm here."

"Alright," she consented after a few beats of silence, "Last night I had this terrible nightmare. I was back in the crystal catacombs with Aang that day when Azula shot him down. I watched him die all over again. Only this time, when he fell out of the sky and I raced to catch him, it wasn't Aang who fell into my arms. It was Tenzin…and I couldn't bring him back." She wilted against Sokka's shoulder as the dream played through her mind vividly, filling her once again with stark terror, horror and unending grief.

"When I woke up from that dream, I couldn't even breathe," she wept, "I told Aang about it, but he said it was just a nightmare and I probably had it because we were back in Ba Sing Se and that being here was stirring up bad memories for me. And maybe that was part of it, but not _all_ of it. I know that's not why I had that dream. I had it because I'm scared of losing our son and that, if it happens, there won't be anything I can do to change it."

Sokka cradled her close and pressed a comforting kiss to her temple as he stroked her heaving back. "Katara, sometimes dreams are just that…just a manifestation of our worst fears. You can't protect Tenzin from everything, just like you couldn't protect Aang."

"But I should. I'm his mother! It's _my_ responsibility!"

"You've given Tenzin your very best, Katara," Sokka told her, "But, most importantly, you've taught him what it takes to survive and all of those lessons will serve him well wherever he is. You have to believe that."

"I'm trying."

"And if it means anything to you at all," he added softly, "I don't think that Aang was trying to dismiss your fears or belittle your feelings. I think maybe this is his way of staying strong for you because he knows that if he lets himself think about what could have happened he'll fall apart completely."

Katara blinked up at him with wet eyes. "Is that what he told you?" she whispered.

"No. He didn't have to tell me," Sokka replied with a sad smile, "I've been in his shoes before." When he read the unspoken question in Katara's eyes, he clarified, "Do you remember when Suki and I went to visit Kyoshi Island for a month and Nilak got sick while we were gone?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You two ended up staying so long that Aang and I didn't know if you were going to come back to Republic City."

"Well, what Suki and I never told you was that Nilak didn't just get sick…he nearly died, Katara. That's why we stayed as long as we did."

Momentarily speechless, Katara reared upright with a stunned gasp. Nilak was Suki and Sokka's youngest son and was, quite possibly, his father's unspoken favorite. He had not only being the baby of the family going for him, but also the fact that he was the very image of his mother, in looks and in personality. Sokka doted on him. Nilak had stolen his father's heart only moments after his birth and he'd had a tight grip on it ever since.

"Are you serious?" Katara whispered shakily, "He was _that_ sick?"

Sokka confirmed with a grim nod. "At first it was just a little cold," he recounted, "and then gradually it turned into a big cold and then it settled into his chest and he began to have problems breathing. It was awful. We consulted all the healers and did everything we were supposed to do, but nothing we did seemed to help. He only got worse.

"Finally, we had exhausted all our options and Oyagi told us that there was nothing more to be done," he continued, "that we could make him comfortable and that we needed to prepare ourselves for the worst. I remember feeling like the ground had dropped out from under me, but Suki… She fell apart. She's was hysterical, screaming and crying…inconsolable… I had never seen her break down that way. It was scary to see her so vulnerable and frightened because she'd always been _my_ strength and _my_ rock. She's like you and Toph in that way. No matter how devastating the situation is, she rolls up her sleeves and she do what needs to be done just like you guys.

"So it was hard for me to see her so defeated and that's when I knew that it was my turn to be the strong one," Sokka went on, "I had to roll up _my_ sleeves and do what needed to be done because this time Suki couldn't. So I couldn't let myself grieve over Nilak. I didn't give up on the hope that he would recover because I couldn't lose my son and I couldn't lose my wife. I made myself believe that he was going to get better and eventually I made Suki believe it too. And he did. He got better and everything worked out the way it was supposed to."

"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" Katara whispered.

"I didn't see any point in sending you and Aang a message while he was sick because I thought that he'd probably be gone before you received it anyway," Sokka sighed, "and then, after a few weeks, it didn't matter anymore because Nilak was recovering. Suki and I wanted to put it behind us."

"I still wish you had told me."

"The point is," Sokka emphasized, "I can empathize with what you're feeling about Tenzin right now, Katara…and I can understand what Aang might be feeling too. You've always been his safe place…the strong one and the person who keeps him grounded. Maybe he's trying to be that person for you now."

"But he's always been that person for me. So why can't we be strong together?" Katara wondered mournfully.

"That's something you need to ask him," Sokka suggested, "But you know how Aang can be. He's probably one of the most optimistic people I've ever known and that's saying a lot considering the fact that _you're_ my sister. I think he's trying to keep his hope alive so that he can keep yours alive too."

"I guess that could be true…"

"All I'm saying is try not to lose patience with him, Katara," Sokka advised sagely, "You admitted to me not ten minutes ago that you need Aang. And I don't doubt for a single second that he needs you back. So tell him how you feel, even if you think he doesn't want to hear it because he _needs_ to hear it. Right now you two should be drawing strength from one another, not resenting each other and pushing each other away."

"I don't want to push him away."

"So then don't. Tell him how you feel and ask him how he feels. Make it clear to him that this is something you need. If you do that, you know Aang won't deny you. He's never denied you anything you've wanted in the past and he never will." Katara nodded as he spoke, pondering the gravity of his words, unable to refute the truthfulness of them. "So will you talk to him?" Sokka prodded, "Will you try?"

"Yes, Sokka," she promised, flinging her arms around his neck in a grateful hug, "I'll try."


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

It took an additional two days before Oogi was fully recovered and ready to fly, but when he finally was…it had been virtually impossible to keep him out of the sky. So the group had arranged to keep in close contact with the Earth King, in case the kidnappers sent demands in their absence, before yielding to Oogi's insistence and taking to the skies. Once there, the sky bison flew like he had never flown before and with an obvious destination in mind.

Toph and Sokka had opted to guide him, or rather let _him_ guide _them_, on their journey while Aang and Katara remained on Appa and followed behind them. Presently, Katara sat cuddled at Aang's side with her arm looped through his and her head resting against his shoulder. They flew along in companionable silence, both of them quietly reflecting on the previous week and all the events that had brought them to that exact moment.

The days had been inordinately busy and frantic for them both following that afternoon they'd found Oogi. When Aang and Toph hadn't been preoccupied with interrogating the shady merchant who had purchased him, they were combing the city's underbelly for anyone who might have connections with the mysterious "Hong." Meanwhile, Katara had devoted nearly every moment of her free time to restoring Oogi's health and healing the damage that had been done to him during his brief captivity.

That hadn't left much time for the couple to talk. There was a great deal of leg work involved in following up the leads the merchant had given Aang and Toph. Much like Republic City, Ba Sing Se had a persistent criminal element as well, but the seedy activities taking place within the great walls of the latter were much less controlled than those of the former. The reason was simple. One city had the Avatar's presence to serve as a detriment to deviant behavior and the other did not.

Aang was left feeling somewhat helpless in the wake of that disheartening realization…and guilty. He recognized that, at the end of the day, Avatar or not, he was still only one man and it was physically impossible for him to be in several places at once. He would never be able to establish "true" peace for everyone. At most, he'd be able to bring a modicum of order to the territories he managed to visit. But truthfully, when all else was laid bare, he was just as vulnerable to injustice as the rest of the world. The latest crisis with his son was proof positive of that.

While he, Katara, Toph and Sokka worked tirelessly to distribute the likenesses of their children and the criminal who had "allegedly" stolen them, the Earth King decided to back their efforts with a generous monetary reward for the individual who captured the mysterious Hong and brought him into custody. It was a well meaning gesture on his part, but it ended up creating more havoc than help. The palace gates were inevitably flooded with every kook and crackpot imaginable, every single one of them dragging along their very own "Hong" and demanding restitution for their work.

After a day and a half of that particular chaos, Aang was over it. He was chronically exhausted, definitely heartsick and fast approaching his breaking point. However, in a twist of irony, it proved to be his wife, his brother-in-law and his best friend who ended up being the people to inadvertently push him over the edge.

"There's one thing we haven't considered yet," Sokka had said one afternoon after they had turned away a fresh onslaught of would be crime-stoppers, "What if Hong and his band of thieves weren't after Oogi at all? What if they meant to steal Lin and Tenzin from the beginning?"

"So what are you saying? You think Oogi was hurt and taken because he was trying to protect them?" Katara queried in conclusion.

"It makes sense," Sokka said, "They unloaded Oogi pretty fast, but we still don't know anything about the kids."

"But why would they want to take two children at all?" Aang asked somewhat impatiently, "What could they possibly have to gain?"

"What do you think, Aang?" Toph interjected in a quiet tone, "You're the Avatar. What could possibly bring a bigger cash prize than taking _your_ son?"

"So these people basically want to extort money from us," Katara concluded grimly, "Well, if that's the case, then they can have whatever they want. I don't care. As long as it brings Tenzin and Lin home to us, I'll pay whatever price they demand."

"It's not that simple, Katara. I've had a little experience with kidnapping cases before," Toph said, "This situation with Lin and Tenzin doesn't fit the usual mode of operations, but there are similarities. Most often they involve the wealthy and well-established. It's usually pretty clear that the kidnappers are after money, so actually _giving_ it to them only puts them in control and gives them the upper hand…and we _don't_ want to do that."

"So what do we do?" Katara asked.

Before Toph could begin to strategize a plan for them, Aang held up his hand in a gesture of irritation. "So are you're saying that someone targeted Tenzin because _I'm_ the Avatar?" he concluded tautly, "You're saying it's _my_ fault that he's gone? Wow. Good to know, Toph!"

"No, Aang, no one is blaming you!" Sokka protested when Aang surged to his feet with the obvious intention of storming from the conference room, "That is not what we're saying at all! Don't fly off the handle and take this personally! We're just exploring the possibilities, okay."

"Sokka's right," Toph said, "We're going to have to step back and remove our emotions from this situation and look at what's happened analytically. We need to explore it from all angles. That's the only way we're going to find Tenzin and Lin. We have to consider every possible scenario that might have taken place…even the not so pleasant ones."

"There's no note," Aang argued, "No ransom. That doesn't sound like a kidnapping to me. It doesn't make sense."

"That doesn't mean there won't be a note or a ransom eventually," Katara murmured softly. Aang whipped around to pin her with an unfathomable stare, but she perceived the betrayed hurt lurking in the gray depths of his eyes at her tacit agreement. "Aang, think about it…if someone is desperate enough to steal an animal as big as Oogi for money, don't you think they would be willing to risk taking Tenzin and Lin too, especially if they thought they could get money out of us?"

"And all because of me, right?" Aang finished for her stiffly, "That's what this all comes down to, doesn't it, Katara? I'm the Avatar and the people I love are the ones who are always going to suffer for it." He deflated then, stooping his shoulders forward with a defeated sigh. "You guys 'explore' whatever possibilities you want. I'm going outside to clear my head."

He had barely made it out onto the palace rooftop to take in great gulps of calming air before Katara came storming out behind him, bristling with ire and aggravation. Aang stiffened, knowing instinctively that she was about to tear into him. Katara did not disappoint.

"What was that a minute ago?" she demanded, "You don't like the way the conversation is going and you just leave? You're nearly 43 years old, Aang! I thought you were way past pulling this cut and run routine!"

Aang supposed there was some validity to her argument, but unfortunately old habits tended to die hard. In light of that fact, he readily jumped on the defensive with her. Aang didn't turn to face her at all when he mumbled, "What was the point of staying, Katara? Did I need to be present while you guys hammered out all the details on how this is _my_ fault?"

Katara regarded his back with a narrowed glare, mistaking his guilt for petulance. "Believe it or not, Aang, it's not all about you!" she snapped, "This is hard for everyone! But you're the only one running away. So far your 'think positively' motto hasn't really gotten us anywhere! Sokka, Toph and I are trying to be proactive!"

He whipped to face her then, his temper sparked with her retort. "And I'm not? Forgive me if I was trying to make the best out of an awful situation! It's already bad enough! I didn't want to make it worse by being doom and gloom all the time!"

She winced, imagining that he was making a dig at her. "Are you saying that's what I've done? That was never my intention! I was being realistic, Aang!"

"And obviously I wasn't," Aang concluded curtly. "So, in addition to being immature, you don't think I'm being realistic either? Please don't hold back on me, Katara! Speak your mind!"

"Don't put words in my mouth!"

"I understand you perfectly!"

"No, you don't because if you did then you'd know that I wasn't implying either thing! I'm not accusing you of being immature or unrealistic, Aang. I'm trying to tell you how I feel."

"Well, your _feelings_ sound a lot like _accusations_ to me!" he retorted furiously.

"What's the point of me saying a word when you think you already know all the answers?" she shot back.

Although, he was flinching inwardly over the escalating volume of their exchange, Aang crossed his arms and bit out in exasperation, "Okay, fine! You're _not_ saying I'm immature or unrealistic, but you obviously don't think I'm helping either. So why don't we make it simple for everyone involved and you guys can do your thing and I can do mine?"

Katara frowned at him darkly. "What's that supposed to mean?

"It means that if I'm so 'unrealistic' and impractical, why would you want me to weigh in with my opinion in the first place?" he retorted, "Seems you'd get a lot more accomplished without me."

She threw up her hands, frustrated beyond belief that he had twisted her words into something she had never meant at all. "You're impossible! I can't have a rational conversation with you when you're like this!"

"That's a real laugh coming from _you_!"

The angry rejoinder was poised on her lips, but Katara wisely bit it back. This wasn't what she had in mind when she had followed him up to the rooftop at all. Granted she had been angry when she had come after him, but Katara had never imagined that their conversation would degenerate to the degree where they were actually _fighting_. On some level, she understood that they were likely taking their fear and frustration out on one another, but at the same time she felt they had been married long enough to know how to avoid that particular pitfall in communication.

It was disconcerting to realize how easily they could fall into the same old patterns of miscommunication that had plagued them in their twenties even now as an experienced couple in their forties. But having had a wealth of experience with these types of arguments in the past, Katara knew that if she didn't address the issue straight on that they would likely end up in a circular argument that would invariably lead to more yelling and hurt feelings as well. It needed to end now. And if Aang was too angry to make the first overture towards peace, Katara knew that she would have to do it.

With that determination fixed firmly in her heart, she closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten before she addressed Aang again. And then she did what was perhaps the hardest thing of all…she swallowed her pride and apologized to him. "I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings by what I said earlier," she explained in a much calmer tone, "I chose the wrong words before and I'm sorry. I know that you meant well, but it's been hard for me because I have all these feelings and you haven't been willing to talk them out with me."

"I know that. And I'm sorry too," he mumbled after a few moments, "I never meant for you to feel like you couldn't talk to me. I thought I was doing what was best for both of us, Katara."

"How can you know what's best for me without talking to me about it first?" Katara asked him, careful to keep her tone free from accusation, "It just seems to me that as soon as the discussion goes in a direction you don't like, you bail, Aang…either emotionally or physically and it's not fair. You won't even consider the pos—,"

"—But I have considered it, Katara!" he interrupted sharply, "I already have okay!" She snapped her mouth shut, surprised not only by his admission but the force of it as well. He dragged his hands down the length of his face, muffling the longsuffering moan he expelled as he did so. "I think about it all the time," he confessed in a considerably softer tone, "and the possibility that Tenzin and Lin were kidnapped terrifies me. Do you want to know why I don't want to talk about it? That's why!"

"I don't understand. Why can't you talk about it?"

"You know that I already carry the burden of what happened to my people on my conscience because of my inability to fulfill my duties as the Avatar, Katara." His voice began to break when he whispered, "And now it feels like it's happening all over again because I can't protect everyone from everything and I…I couldn't live with myself if my inability to do that caused…if our son…"

Katara didn't give him chance to finish the statement. She was already closing the distance between them to take him into her arms, all the earlier irritation between them forgotten. Aang gratefully buried his face in her neck with a muted sob. They clung to each other in a tight embrace, weeping together for the first time since Tenzin had gone missing almost a week earlier. When the dam of emotion finally broke for them the intensity was devastating and frightening, but also an unbelievable relief.

When the violent trembling in Aang's body finally began to ease, Katara asked gently, "Why didn't you tell me you were feeling this way, Aang? Why didn't you talk to me?"

Self-conscious and vulnerable, he tugged out of her arms, turning away slightly to scrub away the remnants of his tears as he confessed, "I guess I was afraid that if I said it out loud, then it would be true." He threw a quick, uncertain glance back at her. "Or maybe I was afraid that you would blame me too."

"Why would I blame you?" she whispered, "This isn't _your_ fault. What happened to your people wasn't your fault. I don't know why you keep punishing yourself for it."

"Someone targeted our son because of _me_, Katara," he argued, "How is that _not_ my fault?" Katara couldn't help it. She knew he was in emotional agony, but she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of it all. Aang scowled at her. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Not at all. I'm not laughing at you, Aang," she reassured him quickly, "I'm laughing at the situation. Here you've been blaming yourself this entire time and I've been blaming myself and neither of us has talked about it with each other, which only made us feel worse…because I needed you to tell me I was being ridiculous this whole time  
and you needed me to do the same. Basically, we've been total idiots."

Aang gaped at her in astonishment. "You've been blaming yourself?"

"I wish I had gone to his room to check on him earlier," she said, "I wish I had been more observant about how weird he had been acting lately. I wish I had done about a million things differently that day."

"That's crazy, Katara. There was nothing you did or didn't do that caused this situation."

Katara smiled at him. "Now look in the mirror and tell yourself the same thing." When she saw that he was flustered and unable to come up with a ready response to that, Katara took advantage of his discomfiture and went to him. She rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. "I love you, Aang. I don't blame you for what's happened. I never will. Do you blame me?"

"No. I don't."

"Then can we please stop hiding our feelings behind a 'positive attitude' and be scared together?" she asked in a small tone, "I'd really like that."

Aang wrapped his arms around her, hugging her hard. "Yeah. I think we can do that."

That conversation was still replaying itself in both Aang and Katara's minds when Oogi began his descent out of the sky. But while Aang remained preoccupied with his thoughts, Katara noticed the gradual lowering Oogi's altitude right away. She nudged Aang gently in his side, startling him back into reality. She couldn't help but smile a little at his blank expression.

"Oogi's getting ready to land, sweetie," she explained in response to his bewildered look, "I guess we're finally here…" she threw a glance down at the hazy settlement below them, "…wherever here is anyway."

"Here" turned out to be what could only be described as a backwater town. There wasn't much in the way of creature comforts or refinery, but Aang and Katara supposed there was a certain bit of hominess to the province. However, Sokka and Toph weren't nearly as generous with their assessments of the place.

They had already dismounted from Oogi by the time Aang landed Appa. While Toph waited for Aang and Katara to join them, Sokka was doing a little impromptu exploration of their environment. He didn't look especially impressed with what he found.

"Hey, I know I'm blind and everything," Toph remarked rather drolly as Aang came to stand alongside her, "but this town seems to be filled with a whole lot of nothing."

Sokka gave their surroundings yet another pivoting appraisal. "You're not too far off the mark."

Katara couldn't help but not how eerie and abandoned the town square seemed. "It's like a ghost town," she murmured with a shiver, "Does anyone even live here?"

"Sure they do," Toph confirmed, raising her arm to point off in a westward direction, "They're hiding behind that building right over there."

Aang, Sokka and Katara all swung expectant glances in that direction perceiving nothing except what seemed to be a dusty, abandoned building and tumbleweeds. However, they knew that if Toph said something was there then they could trust her judgment on the matter. "Hello?" Aang called out carefully, "Can anybody here help us? We're looking for our children and our pet bison led us here to your town."

One by one, the citizens began ducking out from behind their hiding places, not only the one Toph had indicated, but they also began to appear on the rooftops and through the grimy window panes of the buildings that flanked them. While most of the crowd hung back from them one man in particular, a short, stocky balding fellow with a bushy beard and genial eyes, approached them. Aang smiled at him in greeting.

"Hello, sir. My name is Aang. I'm the Av—,"

"I know very well who you are, Avatar Aang," the man interrupted softly. "Your tattoos make you very distinct. I never thought I would have the privilege of meeting you in person."

"Well, if you knew who he was, why did you hide?" Sokka demanded with some exasperation.

"We don't get many visitors here," the man explained, "Sometimes my citizens can be a bit wary."

"Your citizens?" Toph prompted.

"I am Huizhong, mayor and constable here. I'm also the local shoemaker so if you're in the market, I'm having a half off sale on moccasins. I love a good moccasin." A few feet behind Aang, Katara and Sokka surreptitiously traded the universal gesture for crazy while Huizhong bowed before Aang in a gesture of deep respect. "I would like to take this time to officially welcome you to our humble township, Avatar Aang."

Aang bowed politely as well. "Thank you very much for the welcome, Major Huizhong, but we aren't here for a social visit. As I mentioned before, my friends and I are looking for our children." He reached inside his robes to produce the missing posters for Tenzin and Lin. "We have reason to believe that they might have stopped here."

Major Huizhong scanned the posters with a low grunt before turning aside to beckon forth a fidgety young man a few feet behind him. "This is my nephew," he explained as he turned to show the leaflets to the boy, "Are these the two young people you told me about before? Do they look familiar?"

The nephew nodded vigorously. "That's them, Uncle. Those are the two I was telling you about!" He pointed over at Oogi. "And that's the bison they had! I remember because of his markings!"

"So they were here?" Katara prompted anxiously.

The boy nodded again. "About a week back or so. They landed their bison right here in the middle of the town square and caused quite a bit of commotion."

"Commotion?" Sokka echoed, frowning, "I don't like how that sounds."

"We don't see very many sky bison around these parts," Huizhong explained, "Quite of the number of the citizens were fascinated by the animal and, from what my nephew has told me, I think the boy might have been uncomfortable with all the attention."

"Tenzin," Katara provided quietly, "He's our son."

Toph stepped forward, commanding Major Huizhong's attention with her movement. "So you weren't here the night they arrived?" she questioned.

"I was away on business. But my nephew was here in town when they landed."

"Can you tell us everything that happened that night?" Aang asked the young man.

The nephew shrugged. "That's pretty much all there is to tell," he said, "They landed and then he tied the bison up over there on one of the post and then went running after the girl. I…I think that she might have been mad at him or something because it looked to me like they were having some kind of fight…"

"Typical," Toph mumbled.

"But then I guess they made up," the nephew went on to explain, "and by the time they came back to get their bison there was already a crowd around him."

"Including you?" Sokka prompted.

"Well yeah…" the nephew confessed hesitantly, "It's a pretty incredible animal."

Sokka produced the wanted poster featuring "Hong" and showed it to the young man. "What about this guy? Was he a part of the crowd that was checking out the sky bison?"

And just like that, the nephew's helpful demeanor evaporated. He suddenly shrank back behind his uncle with a fierce shake of his head. "No," he denied, "I've never seen that man before."

"He's lying," Toph declared before he even finished making the statement. She leveled an accusing finger at the major. "Tell us why he's lying to us right now!"

"His name is Hong," Huizhong explained reluctantly, "He belongs to a gang of thugs. Every few months he and his cohorts pay a visit to our small township and rob us of anything they deem valuable. If we don't give them trouble they usually ride off and don't bother us for another six months or so. We've gotten to the point that if we know they're coming, we hide what few precious things we have in advance."

"But you're the law here," Katara protested, "Can't you do anything about them?"

"I am the _only_ law here," the mayor replied, "Most of the males in this town are either too young or too old to assist me. My nephew was recently appointed to serve as my deputy but he's barely fourteen. Sadly, I am only one man. I cannot protect the entire town on my own."

Empathizing with the man's plight, Aang stamped down his misplaced irritation and frustration with the mayor. He turned back to regard the nephew. "Did Hong and his gang try to take Oogi…the bison that night while Tenzin and Lin were here? Do you know what direction they went?"

"Oh, it's not Hong's gang," the nephew explained, "He's not the leader. That's Iwao. He's a firebender and meaner than a scorpion-snake. You don't want to cross him."

"Did Iwao threaten the kids in any way?" Toph demanded.

"Not as far as I know," the nephew said, "Like I told my uncle, the boy didn't seem to like that we were gathered around his bison. He shooed us off and then he and the girl went walking out of town. I never saw either of them again."

"Which direction did they go?" Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka asked simultaneously.

After getting the details from the nephew, the group took off on foot in the direction he'd indicated, hoping to discover some clue linking the last time the kids had been seen to the moment they had disappeared. Oogi seemed to grow progressively agitated the further they traveled outsed of town which gave them the hopeful indication that they were going in the right direction. Aided by both Toph and Aang's sonic senses they meandered their way to the outskirts of the small province towards the forest beyond.

Abruptly, Toph stopped short. "I see something up ahead," she told them, "I'm not sure what it is, but it seems like a real mess."

That was an enormous understatement. What they found were the remnants of broken and raised earth, deep, jagged craters, swathes of charred terrain and scattered debris. It looked as if a bomb had been detonated in the area. As the group fanned out over the area to investigate all corners of the devastated site, Sokka emitted a low whistle. "Looks like some kind of battle took place here. This place is a war-zone."

Aang stooped down to sift through the burnt rubble. Among the desiccated clumps of earth he discovered a small knapsack. He shook off the dirt to examine it more closely but that didn't help a great deal because it had been burned almost beyond recognition. He could barely determine what color it had once been. Yet, as he turned it over in his hands, it seemed vaguely familiar to him. He pulled open the flap and peered inside before shaking the remaining contents free into his palm. Aang stared down at the two pieces of dried fruit…Tenzin's favorites.

He was still trying to process the find when Sokka called out, "I've got a sleeping bag over here." He held it aloft for the group to see. "Does this look familiar?"

Katara flicked the sleeping bag with a cursory glance. "I don't recognize it. I don't think it's Tenzin's."

"Well could it be Lin's then?" Sokka wondered, "Toph, does it look familiar to you?"

"I would love to tell you if it looked familiar, Sokka," she began sweetly, "but unfortunately, _I can't see!_ It's that whole 'been blind my whole life' thing!"

Sokka face-palmed himself in chagrin. "Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that."

"Well, we know this was someone's campsite at least," Aang pondered aloud, "Now we need to confirm whose it is."

Toph nodded over to where an agitated Oogi bellowed and stomped. Not even Appa could calm him down. "He seems pretty adamant that we're in the right place," she considered.

"I think we're going to need a little more to go on than Oogi's animal intuition," Sokka reasoned. He threw a glance over at Oogi when the bison growled indignantly. "Not that I doubt you, buddy."

"Sokka, if you need proof then I've got proof," Katara called out to them from a concealed place behind small cluster of trees, "I know for sure that Tenzin and Lin were here." She held up the splintered remains of her son's glider. "This is Tenzin's glider…or what's left of it." She stared down at the cracked staff with a bereft expression. "He would never go anywhere without it."

"Katara, are you sure?" Sokka asked, half hoping she was wrong.

In answer, Katara flipped open the tattered apparatus revealing the bright orange material out of which it had been made. "She's sure," Aang confirmed as he went to stand alongside her to examine the find himself. "This _is_ Tenzin's. I fashioned it for him myself a few months ago because…because he had outgrown the other one."

"So now we know. Tenzin and Lin were here," Katara whispered in a wooden tone, "and then those thugs must have come into their camp and ambushed them. They probably followed them from town."

"I guess you were right after all, Aang," Sokka murmured, "They were only after Oogi in the beginning."

"Believe me, Sokka, being 'right' gives me no satisfaction whatsoever," Aang muttered.

"But if Tenzin and Lin gave them a fight, and from the looks of things, they gave them the fight of their lives," Katara interjected, "then maybe it's likely that they only took the kids along because they thought it would be less trouble. Maybe they just stashed them somewhere until they could vanish."

"…Or maybe they didn't want to leave any witnesses," Aang countered grimly. He hoped that his disheartened underbreath was low enough not to be overheard, but Katara _did_ hear him…and she blanched. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I just…I can't find the good in this right now."

"They fought hard here, Aang," Katara told him, "They'll keep on fighting. We have to believe that."

"Well, all I know is that these people have some serious balls of steel to take our kids this way!" Toph grated, masking her fear and worry behind a wall of seething rage, "Who do they think they are? Better yet, who do they think _we_ are? I hope those brass ones serve them well because when I find these idiots there had better not be a hair on my little girl's head out of place or I'm going to pound them so hard their future generations will feel it! Oh, who cares? I'm going to pound them regardless!"

"I think you're going to get your chance, Toph," Sokka commented softly, beckoning his companions closer. When they had all converged around him in a semi-circle, he pointed to the ground. "Look."

"Exactly what are we looking at?" Toph demanded impatiently, "Because, you know, the not seeing thing kind of puts me at a disadvantage!"

Ignoring her rolling sarcasm, Katara and Aang traded a look of burgeoning hope before Katara answered in a curiously triumphant tone, "Wagon tracks, Toph. They left us wagon tracks."


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

Lin awoke in measured degrees feeling warm and comfortable and blissfully free of pain. But as drowsiness gradually faded away she began to realize…she didn't like the feelings. Long before her eyes fluttered open, the young earthbender was frowning. Something was off. Something was _wrong_. That something occurred to her about a split second before she bolted upright with a gasp of pure, unrestrained panic, her slender frame tensed for an inevitable fight. Her unfamiliar surroundings only heightened Lin's disorientation. Her heart slammed against her chest with pounding fervor, supplying her brain with a rush of blood that sharpened her senses within seconds.

"Tenzin!" she cried out, further unsettled to discover herself in a strange bed and clad in strange clothes as well. She ripped back the blankets covering her and swung her legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the sickening wave of dizziness and nausea that assailed her when she did. The room dipped and twirled. Lin clenched her hands into the bedding to steady herself. "Tenzin! Tenzin, where are you?"

Awakened by her frantic calls for him, Tenzin jerked up from his makeshift pallet on the floor at the foot of her bed and scrambled to her side, steadying her gently before she could make an uncoordinated attempt to stand. "Shh," he soothed, easing her back down onto the bed, "Calm down. I'm here. I'm right here." He stroked the tangled tufts of her uncombed hair while waiting for her labored breathing to even. "Lin, you're okay," he continued to whisper, "You're fine now. You're safe."

Far from comforted, Lin surveyed him with wild eyes. "Am I dead? Are _we_ dead?"

"No," he answered, choking back his surprised spurt of laughter at her unexpected query, "We're in a house."

She surveyed him with a blank look. "Why—?" The word escaped her in a rasping croak. Lin had to clear her throat several times before she could speak again, belatedly aware of how much it hurt to speak and how dry and scratchy her throat felt when she did. "Why are we in a house?"

Something flickered in his eyes before he asked softly, "You don't remember any of it, do you?"

Lin shook her head, wilting back further into the pillows as a sudden wave of fatigue settled over her. "I'm so out of it I can't even be sure we're having this conversation right now. What happened, Tenzin?"

"What do you remember?"

"Being in a tree…I think…" she sighed hazily, "…you stroking my hair…my mom holding me… But it all seems like a dream. I don't know what's real and what isn't."

"Well, some of it was real and some of it wasn't." He lowered his eyes carefully as he scooted next to her on the bed. "So do you want the epic tale or the shortened version?"

After closing her eyes briefly, Lin croaked tiredly, "Short version please. I think you might lose me here in a minute."

"Well, you know you were hurt pretty badly," Tenzin began in explanation, "Your wound was infected and you got really sick. We had to camp out in the forest for the night and you had a raging fever. You were so bad that I thought maybe you would…" He shook his head, deciding at the last second not to finish the thought. "It doesn't matter what I thought. The point is that by the morning I knew I couldn't wait anymore. I needed to find some help for you. So I did."

Lin popped open one eye to regard him wryly. "So you saved my life?" Tenzin answered with a slow nod, prompting an unhappy grunt from Lin. "Great. You'll never let me live it down, will you?"

Tenzin bit back a smile. "It wasn't as heroic as all that. I pretty much found a road not far from where we'd made camp and begged the first person I saw for help. Fortunately, they were willing to help us. It was a man and his son on their way home from a business trip. At first they were a little wary, but as soon as I explained our situation to them, they were willing to assist us. It also might have helped that I was crying like a little girl."

"You were trying to save my life so I forgive you," Lin mumbled magnanimously, "Just don't make a habit of it or I don't know if I can be seen with you."

"Anyway," Tenzin pressed on with a roll of his eyes, "They loaded us into their wagon and then brought us back to their town."

"Seems like they did a lot more than that," Lin murmured pensively. She gingerly pressed at the clean, neatly applied bandage covering her burn wound. "I hardly hurt at all."

"Now that was just a stroke of pure luck. Who knew that the man I flagged down would end up living in a town with a waterbending healer? He brought us to her house and that's where we are now."

She smirked at him. Unexplained occurrences like that always seemed to happen to Tenzin. Lin figured it had something to do with him being the son of the Avatar or perhaps his natural inclination towards all things spiritual given he was a direct descendant from the Air Nomads. Whatever the reason, there was definitely something special about Tenzin and the way the Universe seemed to mysteriously bail him out of trouble whenever he needed it.

"Tenzin, somehow I'm not surprised that you managed to find a waterbender in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. You're involved so it _has_ to be weird."

"Tease me all you want, Lin," he invited lightly, "I'm just glad it worked out and that you're okay."

They settled into a companionable silence as Lin tried to assimilate all he'd just revealed her. Her memory of events remained full of holes and extremely hazy, but she still had the vague notion that Tenzin had not strayed from her side until the morning he had gone to seek help. Somehow she knew he had taken care of her. The proof of that was evidenced by the fact she was still alive. The realization filled her with both unending gratitude that he had fought so strongly for her as well as humble pride that she should be privileged to call Tenzin _her_ friend.

"So…" she sighed finally, "…how long have I been out?"

"About three days."

Lin balked. She might have surged upright again if she'd had even a little strength to move. "Three days? I've been sleeping for _three days_?"

"Actually, you've been delirious, ranting and belligerent. _Sleeping_ was kept at the bare minimum," Tenzin clarified dryly, "but yeah…three days covers it."

His playful sarcasm earned him a slap to the hand, but just as soon as Lin's usual brand of grumpiness appeared it dissipated when yet another concern occurred to her. "Oogi." She fixed Tenzin with a hopeful stare. "Is he back? Did he ever find us?"

Tenzin responded with a rueful shake of his head. "I think he might be gone for good, Lin."

The words were free from blame and filled with quiet resolve yet they caused remorseful tears to spring to Lin's eyes nonetheless. She quickly averted her face because she didn't want Tenzin to see her cry, but he knew she was. However, he kept quiet and waited for her to compose herself rather than pulling her close for a hug because he knew Lin _hated_ crying.

It was a long time before she garnered enough courage to ask him in a tiny voice if he blamed her. Lin held her breath for his response, not entirely surprised when he reached out to touch her shoulder and the gesture was free of rancor and blame. At his core, Tenzin was a great deal like his father and, consequently, he tended to be very forgiving in nature. His unspoken exoneration encouraged Lin to meet his eyes even while she felt she was wholly undeserving of his clemency.

He sighed as he watched those emotions flitter across her face. "I don't blame you, Lin," Tenzin whispered. The words caused Lin's eyes to swell with renewed tears. "I'm sad about Oogi and I'll miss him. I _do_ miss him, but right now I'm more grateful than anything that you're alive." He reached forward to whisk away the wetness meandering from the corner of her eye. "Please don't feel bad."

Lin opened her mouth to flood him with tearful apologies regardless when the wooden door to the bedroom suddenly swung open. Tenzin reflexively shot to his feet while Lin swiftly scrubbed her face free of tears and arranged her features into a polite smile. Their waterbender host ducked inside the room with a small smile of greeting and bearing a tray of food.

"I thought you might be hungry," she explained to Tenzin. As she got closer, however, she noticed that Lin was awake and the food was forgotten. With a soft exclamation, she set aside the tray and made her way over to her young patient's bedside.

"Kya! You're finally awake."

Lin barely had time to process the fact that the woman had called her by the name of Tenzin's older sister before she was looming over her. "Only for a few minutes," she replied a little self-consciously, "I'm still trying to get my bearings."

"That will come with time," the woman reassured her, "For now, I must check your wound to make sure that you're healing properly."

After she removing Lin's old dressing and performing a brief healing session, she applied fresh, clean bandages to the site and then stood back to observe her handiwork. "I think you should recover nicely. You may bear a few scars from the ordeal but nothing too noticeable."

"Thank you," Lin said because she was at a loss to say anything else.

"It's been my pleasure to care for you," the woman murmured with a kind smile, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired, but I'm not in pain. Thank you again for helping us and taking us into your home. I don't know what to say."

The woman accepted her gratitude with a nod. "You don't have to say anything. When Gee and his son told me about how you were attacked and how your brother begged him to help save your life, my heart went out to you both." She missed the furtive glance that passed between Tenzin and Lin as she said, "I am called Saomik, by the way. So if you need anything during your stay here, please don't hesitate to ask."

"You've already done so much for us, Saomik," Tenzin said, "We're sorry if we've caused you any imposition."

"Right," Lin agreed, "In fact, _my brother_ and I will likely be moving on once I'm well enough to travel."

"It's too soon for you to think about that right now," Saomik said, "Take your time to recover, child. And, in the meantime, have some breakfast. There's probably enough on the tray for both of you, but if not, just let me know." She bounced a smile between Tenzin and Lin. "I'm glad to see that you're both doing better. Your brother has been extremely worried about you, Kya. Now that you're awake perhaps he can relax a little."

Once she was gone and had closed the door firmly behind her, Lin snorted in dry amusement, "You? Relax? Not in this lifetime! She clearly doesn't know you very well, does she?"

"Cut me some slack, will you?" Tenzin mumbled.

"And _my brother?_ You told her that you were my brother? That's the best cover you could come up with?" She shook her head in chagrin. "I can't believe you told her my name was Kya."

"It was the only girl name that came to me right away besides Katara. I was under pressure! Besides, she kind of reminds me of my sister…a little bit…if I squint really hard…"

Lin snorted. "And what did you tell her your name was, _brother_?"

Knowing that he was about to open himself up to a whole wealth of her irreverent mocking, Tenzin ducked his head and mumbled, "Wang."

She snickered. Once. Twice. And then she was choking will full on laughter. "Wang?" she giggled merrily, beating her small fists against the bedding in gales of hilarity, "You told her your name was _Wang_? Oh why did I have to be unconscious at that moment? I can't believe you went with _Wang_ of all things!"

With a deep blush blooming across his cheekbones, Tenzin drew himself tall with an affronted pout. "What's wrong with it? It's a good name. It's strong and it has _history_. Wang just so happens to be the name Uncle Sokka used when our parents were traveling incognito together through the Fire Nation. If you look at it from that perspective, the name is really a part of our heritage and, in that regard, the most appropriate choice!"

"Somehow that logic and the fact you said it with a straight face only makes it _more_ hilarious," Lin chuckled.

Tenzin threw up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Well, what else was I supposed to say? She and the man were asking all these questions about what we were doing in the woods and I panicked. I told them that our names were Kya and Wang and that we had been robbed by a firebender on our way to visit relatives in Ba Sing Se and that's how you were hurt. I couldn't very well admit that we were really runaways and that my father was the Avatar and you were the daughter of Toph Beifong. Somehow passing ourselves off as siblings seemed easier."

Surprisingly, the explanation didn't provoke more laughter from Lin, but instead rendered her silent, pensive and strangely guilty. "I guess…"

"What?" Tenzin demanded shortly, mistaking the reason for her sudden shift in mood, "You have a problem with me being your brother? Or are you mad because I told them that we were headed towards Ba Sing Se?"

Lin made a face at him. "It has nothing to do with that. It's just…you've never been any good at lying, Tenzin, and besides that, you _hate_ it. Now you do it without blinking an eye." Her countenance became shuttered as she added softly, "That's because of me, isn't it? I'm a bad influence on you."

He tossed a careless glance at her over his shoulder as he moved to retrieve the food tray Saomik had delivered earlier. "Yeah, you are a bad influence," he agreed without rancor, "but, fortunately for you, I like it that way. You drive me crazy, Lin, but I don't know what I would do without you."

She offered him a small smile. "I don't know what I would do without you either."

After exchanging tender looks of mutual affection, Tenzin placed the food on the bed and watched as Lin fell upon it ravenously while taking very little for himself. "Hungry?" he teased after she had devoured half the breakfast in under a minute.

"Starving," she confirmed around a mouthful. "I could probably eat the plate and tray as well."

"I'd like to see you try." Tenzin watched her wolf down a few more bites, caught between amusement and concern. "You might want to pace yourself," he warned, "It won't be fun for you or me, but _especially_ me, if all this food comes back up again."

Lin started to throw a chunk of bread at him, but then thought better of it and gobbled up the morsel instead. On the spur, she decided to mess with him by feigning a queasy expression. She had barely added the finishing touch of mock gagging before Tenzin shot up from the bed with amazing speed and darted to safety clear across to the other side of the room. Lin fell back into the pillows in a snorting fit of laughter.

"You should have seen your face!" she chortled. "I knew you could move fast, but you had to break a record that time, Tenzin!"

He scowled at her. "You're not funny, Lin. Not even a little bit."

Ten minutes later, however, Tenzin was the one struggling to contain his self-satisfied laughter when Lin was belching and groaning with discomfort from having stuffed herself with so much food, so quickly. Her swollen belly gurgled in protest. She curled up into the blankets, shuddering as her stomach pitched and bubbled and churned. "Ugh…I feel like I'm going to explode from both ends." Tenzin grimaced in revulsion at that visual as she continued, "Who knew that eating a meal could make you feel so lousy?"

"Is that what you were doing? Eating? I thought you were trying to inhale everything within a three foot radius."

She shot him withering glares between uncomfortable whimpers of pain. "Have your fun, Tenzin, but when I'm better…you'd better run."

Tenzin chuckled at that dire threat. "I'll keep that in mind." Lin's answering retort to that smart rejoinder was abruptly smothered by a wide yawn followed by another loud belch. She blushed hotly when Tenzin guffawed. "It's okay," he said. He reached over to take hold of her hand and squeeze her fingers. "I know you're tired…and bloated. Sleep it off, Lin. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Do you promise?" she whispered even as her eyes started to sink closed, "I don't want this to have been a dream."

"It's not a dream. I'll be here."

Lin felt as if she had only closed her eyes for a minute, but when she opened them again the small bedroom was dappled in the hazy golden hue of the falling dusk. She scrubbed the sleep from her eyes and, at first Lin started to panic because she didn't catch sight of Tenzin in her immediate vicinity. However, she just as she started to call for him Lin caught a glimpse of him in the corner of her eye. He was near the window, his shoulder propped against the sill as he watched the setting sun with a remote expression.

For a moment, Lin was struck by his profile. No longer was his face softened by baby fat and round cheeks. His features seemed sharper and more defined than she remembered them. Even with his ridiculously long lashes and a sullen pout, Tenzin still managed to look mature…_manly_almost.

She frowned inwardly at the thought, snorting to herself. Tenzin? Manly? _Since when_, she scoffed in her heart. And yet, the longer she stared at him, the more appropriate the descriptor seemed. There was something beautiful and perfect about his face now, about _him_ really…something that she had truly never noticed before.

Suddenly, he didn't resemble the boy she had known all of her life, her playmate and partner in crime, her unsuspecting scapegoat and her strident conscience. Tenzin now appeared older, wiser…and, as she decided as she watched two twin tears roll silently down his cheeks, more solemn than a twelve year old boy should have been. It was if he had shed all remnants of his boyhood while she was sleeping. She was fascinated by the change in him and yet saddened at the same time.

Shaken by the curious ache that had suddenly taken up residence in her chest while she was watching him, Lin tentatively whispered Tenzin's name. He jumped at the sound of her voice, quickly scrubbing his face free of tears before pivoting to face her with an over-bright smile. Lin's answering smile was equally forced.

"You're awake." He crossed the distance between them to perch himself at the foot of her bed. "I thought you'd be out for the night."

Lin stretched and then pushed herself upright. "I'm glad I wasn't. I feel like I'm sleeping my life away."

"That's understandable considering what you've been through." Tenzin nodded over to the food tray Saomik had delivered an hour earlier. "Saomik came to check on you earlier. There's food if you're hungry."

An unenthused look flittered across Lin's face as she recalled how the last meal had made her feel. She shook her head. "No. I'll pass on that." Tenzin bit back his smile, knowing the exact reason for her refusal but having the wisdom not to point that out to Lin. Unaware of his silent amusement, Lin asked, "What about you? Have you eaten?" Before he could open his mouth to answer, Lin grimaced, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "You haven't been in here the whole time watching me sleep, have you?"

"No," Tenzin denied in a thoroughly unconvincing tone, "Why would I do that?" Lin's skeptical look had him exerting even more effort to convince her. "For your information, I had a very nice lunch with our hostess this afternoon and afterward I accompanied her to the market for a bit of shopping. My life is not tied up in you, Lin Beifong, so get over yourself!"

"Uh-huh. And how long did your little shopping trip take?" Lin prompted dryly.

Tenzin ducked his head with a self-conscious blush. "About an hour…and then I came back here to sit with you."

"Okay, that's it!" Lin announced, whipping back the covers, "I've lollygagged long enough! I'm getting out of this bed, otherwise neither of us will have a life!" Unfortunately, her obstinate determination to get up only took Lin so far. As soon as she tried to stand on her own, her weakened limbs buckled beneath her.

"Lin!" Tenzin shot up from the bed and was catching her in his arms before she could crumple to the floor. Lin gripped his forearms, using him as an anchor as she shuffled her way back to bed. "What were you thinking? You shouldn't try to do too much, too fast," he admonished her softly as he guided her, "Take it easy."

"I wasn't expecting that," she gasped, "My legs feel like noodles."

Tenzin helped her back beneath the blankets and briskly arranged them over her prone form. "It's going to take you a little while to get your strength back."

She reclined against the pillows, regarding him with a solemn and pensive expression while he settled himself beside her. "I must have been really bad off before, huh?" Lin considered in a gruff tone, "I…uh…I guess if that guy and his son hadn't come along when he did, I would have died out in that forest."

"We _both_ would have died," Tenzin countered softly.

Lin frowned at him, bewildered and instantly concerned. "Both? How's that?"

Tenzin's gray stare was steady and emphatic as he whispered, "I _never_ would have left you out there, Lin."

She gasped a little at the confession, shaken to her core by his steadfast fervency. The heaviness in her heart reasserted itself, filling her with the inexplicable desire to cry. Lin trembled, not only in reaction to the words, but the vehement manner in which he had spoken them. They had moved her, but more than that…she felt exposed right then…vulnerable. Lin didn't know if she liked the feeling either.

Unsettled by the odd effect he was having on her, Lin then endeavored to change the subject in hopes of dispelling the weirdness between them. "Hey…did you know that you've got hair now?" she asked him bluntly. She reached over to pluck at the short strands. "It's different. I think I've gotten used to you having no hair." It wasn't the smoothest segue imaginable, but it accomplished the job of steering them into less intense waters conversation-wise.

He chuckled self-consciously, patting at the dark spikes of hair that had recently begun sprouting atop his head. "Yeah…I haven't really thought too much about shaving these last few days. I look strange, huh?"

"Not strange, just… not like yourself."

Tenzin shrugged. "I don't guess I've felt very much like myself either."

"I'll bet," Lin murmured, "It's been a crazy week, hasn't it?"

"Yep. Pretty crazy."

"After all this disaster and mayhem we should probably cut our losses and go home, shouldn't we?"

"Probably," Tenzin considered. The answer was a practical one. However, he didn't miss the disappointment that flickered across Lin's face when he gave it. He regarded her with a sad smile. "But you don't want to, do you?"

"Not for the reason you think," she rushed to reassure him. "I still want to find my dad, but there's something else we need to do now. I'm not sure if I was dreaming or if it was the product of the fever or what, but I specifically remember those men mentioning that they had sold Oogi to a merchant from Omashu." She fixed Tenzin with a questioning look. "Did that really happen?"

"Yes…" he replied slowly, knowing exactly where Lin was headed before she'd even voiced the suggestion. "Lin, please tell me that you're not thinking about trying to make it to Omashu so we can find Oogi…tell me I'm wrong!"

"You are _not_ wrong. That's exactly what I'm thinking." Tenzin was already shaking his head in refusal long before she'd completed the sentence. "Why are you saying 'no'? Don't you want to get him back?"

"It isn't about me wanting him back," he argued, "It's about the fact that this journey has been fraught with disaster from the beginning _and_ you almost died!" He shuddered inwardly at the memory of how sick she had been. "Maybe I would have been willing to shrug off the first part, but the last part is a deal breaker for me, Lin!"

"Well, I'm the one who almost bit it! If I don't have a problem with it then why should you?"

Tenzin released a longsuffering sigh at the twisted logic, dropping his head forward in exasperation. He massaged his suddenly aching temples. "Sometimes you make me so tired, Lin."

"You probably wouldn't have a headache if you only did what I wanted without giving me lip about it," Lin reasoned unsympathetically.

"You're in no condition to do anymore traveling," Tenzin argued, "You can barely walk! We should go home. That's the wise thing to do. By now our parents are probably out of their minds with worry about us anyway."

"And when we go back that worry is going to turn to fury and we're probably not going to see daylight again until we're 30!"

"But that's no excuse to—,"

"Tenzin, I can't!" she choked out stubbornly, cutting him off mid-protest. Her green eyes welled with sudden tears, shocking him into complete silence. "I can't go back right now. Don't you get it? If we go home then it was all for nothing. Almost dying was for nothing. Losing Oogi was for nothing. Worrying our parents was for nothing." She shook her head, swallowing thickly. "I can't let it be for nothing."

He knew he couldn't withstand her poignant argument, not when she was sitting there with tears glistening in her eyes. Still, he made a weak attempt to talk her out of it. "Lin, we don't have any money. We don't have any transportation. All we have are the clothes on our backs. How are we supposed to make it to Ba Sing Se, let alone Omashu? Don't you think this idea is a little crazy?"

"The craziest," she agreed, "But I still want to do it." He groaned. "We're resourceful kids and we've made it this far. We'll find a way." She nudged his shoulder. "Come on. Say yes, Tenzin. It can't possibly get any worse."

"Thanks, Lin. Now that you've put that out into the Universe it definitely will," he predicted unhappily.

"I'm being serious. I can't go home without meeting my father first and I absolutely won't go home without Oogi. I told you that we would get him back so I have to keep my word." She tweaked his side playfully. "So what do you say? Are you up for extending our little road trip?"

Tenzin tipped his head back with an exasperated grunt. "I just know I'm going to regret agreeing to this…"

Lin squealed and threw her arms around his neck in a surprising burst of strength and squeezed him hard. "Oh, you're totally going to regret it…but I'm glad you said yes anyway!"

He opened his mouth to tell her just how crazy he thought she was when Saomik suddenly burst into the room in a flurry of panic and swirling skirts. She swiftly shut the door and then pressed her back against it as if she expected someone to try and push their way inside at any given moment. "We have a problem," she announced in a low, urgent tone.

"What's happened?" Tenzin and Lin asked simultaneously.

"Gee stopped by a few minutes ago," Saomik explained, "He mentioned that he was in town earlier and there was a there was a group of men there asking about you two." While Tenzin and Lin were still processing the enormity of that revelation, she added ominously, "One of the men was a firebender."

Although Tenzin and Lin made a concerted effort to conceal their fear, their reactive gasps were impossible for Saomik to ignore. She regarded them both with a mixture of wary suspicion and concern. "Is there a reason why these men are hunting you?" she asked them both softly, "Have you done something?"

"We didn't do anything wrong!" Lin burst out, "They attacked us and now they won't leave us alone!" She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, reaching for Tenzin as she did so that he could steady her.

Tenzin dutifully looped her arm around his neck and helped her to her feet. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he fretted, "You're still so weak…"

"We don't have a choice. We have to get out of here. There's no way we can stay now."

It seemed to matter very little to Lin that she could hardly stand or that she was dressed in nothing more than a simple cotton nightshirt that barely glanced the top of her knees. Right then, the uncertain terror she had felt that night when she and Tenzin had been trapped in the tree came surging back with a vengeance. She was in absolutely no shape to fight and Lin didn't want to put Tenzin in the position of having to battle for both of them and care for her at the same time.

However, before she and Tenzin could execute their half-formed plan to hobble out of there and disappear into the night, Saomik stepped into their path. "Wang! Kya! Wait a minute! This is insanity! You're in no condition to go anywhere," she reasoned with Lin gently, "I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything a moment ago. I'm only trying to understand. You have to admit that your story has a few holes in it."

"It's not a story," Lin maintained despite Tenzin's guilty fidgeting.

"I told you the truth about what happened," he insisted quietly, "We were camping and those men tried to rob us. But we…we fought them and so they ended up taking us too. We managed to escape but it didn't matter. They've been chasing us ever since."

Saomik's expression softened with pity. "What a terrible ordeal. Your parents must be so worried about you."

"We don't have parents anymore!" Lin cut in quickly before Tenzin could comment, "They died." She ignored the irate glare he sent her over the horrific excuse. "It's only me and Wang left now. That's why we were on our way to Ba Sing Se. Our…our uncle is going to take guardianship of us."

"Oh, you poor darlings," Saomik murmured. "I'm so sorry for the ordeal you've both endured. Whatever I can do to help you, I will do."

"We can't stay," Lin reiterated, "It's not safe for us here anymore."

Saomik shook her head in refutation of Lin's argument. "No, you're perfectly safe. Those men have no idea that you're here. Gee told them nothing about finding you."

Both Tenzin and Lin wilted with relief. Still, Tenzin couldn't keep himself from refusing Saomik's unspoken offer to stay, though he was clearly torn between staying for the sake of Lin's recovery and his natural instinct to flee. "You've been so kind to us and we don't want to bring you trouble," he argued, "It's too dangerous for us to stay with you now."

"And it's equally dangerous for you to leave," Saomik countered, "Those men are probably still very close by. You're likely to get caught by them if you try to leave now." When they still seemed reluctant to agree, she pleaded with Lin in a trembling tone, "Please. I would like you to stay."

Now it was Lin's turn to regard her with wary curiosity. "Why exactly is it so important to you that we stay here? Why do you care so much?"

"Well, you're both young children," Saomik replied, "It's a bit sad that to see you out on your own like this. But that's not the only reason. I feel a…an odd sort of kinship towards you both and I have since you first arrived.

"You see, once…a long time ago…I had a daughter," she confessed softly, "but she died when she was only a few months old. If she had lived, she would have been only a few years older than you, Kya. Even with all my healing abilities, I couldn't help her. Please…please let me help you and your brother."

After a long, torturous silence, Lin managed a spasmodic swallow and uttered in a small tone, "Lin." Tenzin froze in shock at the divulging of her true name while Saomik surveyed Lin with a puzzled smile. "You should call me Lin. My family calls me Lin. _You_ can call me Lin."

Saomik repeated her name, testing it on her lips before bestowing Lin with a knowing smile because she recognized that she'd just been gifted with an incredible amount of trust. "Thank you, Lin. It's a beautiful name."

"Are you sure you want to help us?" Lin prodded, "Trouble seems to follow us around. Those men who are chasing us aren't very nice at all."

The kindly waterbender's smile deepened. "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself. Don't worry about me. Let me worry about you."

Tenzin and Lin exchanged a careful look before Lin finally relented with a hesitant nod. "Okay. Maybe we can stay a couple of days…"

"Good," Saomik said with a relieved sigh filled with profound gratitude, "I'll make us some dinner."


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"Looks like the trail ends here."

With Sokka's pronouncement, Aang, Katara and Toph stopped short and took in their surroundings. Likewise, Appa and Oogi lumbered to a standstill right behind them. Both animals were grateful for the break because they were unused to walking for such long distances. It was a brief moment of respite not only for them, but for Sokka, Aang, Katara and Toph as well. The four of them hadn't caught more than 50 hours of sleep between them in the last week.

They had been traveling for six and a half grueling days. The deep wagon tracks had led them over rather diverse terrain, through dense forest and sloping valleys, past trickling streams and wide, raging rivers, through barren wilderness and lush, green plains. They had never doubted for a moment that they were on the right trail given the width and size of the tracks. Whatever cargo they had been transporting, it had been massive. Their certainty was only confirmed when Oogi began displaying signs of recognition and fear.

Aang and Katara had done what they could to calm him, but the further they traveled, the more unsettled the bison became. Normally that might have concerned them and, on some level, it did. A raging ten ton beast wasn't something either of them welcomed. Primarily though the couple was focused on finding their son and, just as Oogi was, they became increasingly anxious with the progress they were making, albeit for different reasons.

Now, with the cessation of the trail that had kick-started their journey, they had to consider what direction to travel in next. It seemed almost as if they had embarked on an epic quest to find the criminal hideaway only to be brought to a place that was little more than a stretch of verdant plain and a typical forest beyond. Suffice it to say, it was a little surprising. After all the walking they had done they had expected something a little more…formidable.

"Well," Sokka sighed with a sideways glance towards Toph, "Which way now, Chief?"

Toph pointed towards the south. "There's an open enclosure over there. It's abandoned," she added, causing her group of friends to slump with disappointment, "but I think it might have been a campsite at one time."

Shaking off his frustration but heartened by the fact the place had been inhabited before, Aang took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Let's go check it out."

After bidding Appa and Oogi to stay put and "be careful," the gang ventured carefully into the wooded area. Fortunately, they didn't have to travel far to reach their destination. The remains of the deserted campsite was tucked away and concealed by a circular cluster of trees. Warped cooking pots, hollow bamboo straws used to blow poison darts and torn articles of clothing littered the ground, as if whomever had been there beforehand had vacated in a hurry. And, the group considered as they broke off from each other to pick through the wreckage, if the uneven earth and charred greenery was any indication, they had.

"Wow…it looks like a windstorm went through this place," Sokka muttered. Seconds after he made the statement, Katara and Aang cut sharpened glances in his direction. "I meant that in the most general terms," he rushed to add, "I'm not saying that the windstorm was Tenzin-related or anything!"

Katara was still scowling at him when she straightened and dusted her hands against her leggings. "This sort of destruction seems like the norm for these people." She made the remark to no one in particular. However, when she caught sight of the curiously warped metal box just on the edge of the campsite, she called over to the gang to get their attention. "There's something over there," she said when they had joined her.

Closer inspection revealed what that "something" was. It was a metal cage, little more than a miniature prison cell not unlike the one Toph had found herself in as a child when Xin Fu had decided to kidnap her for a debt he perceived he had been owed. She hadn't yet learned the art of metalbending back then. Now, however, that was hardly a detriment. She stepped forward and ripped away the door, hurling it away as if it were little more than parchment paper.

Sokka stared at her in unconcealed awe. "No matter how many times you do that, it will never stop being the most amazing thing ever to me!"

"Anything for my biggest fangirl."

However, their moment of lighthearted banter was quickly forgotten when they looked inside the cage and noted its mangled interior. Even though Toph couldn't technically see anything what she found filled her with dread nonetheless. While she didn't have the traditional view that her friends had, she could very easily discern that iron pen's last occupant had most definitely been a metalbender. The bottom of the hold had been peeled back in strips, almost as if peeling the skin from a fruit. Only someone highly skilled with the element would be able to accomplish such precise and clean work.

"Lin was here," Toph determined gruffly. She made the pronouncement with a mixture of resignation, sadness and pride. "This was her doing."

"How can you be sure?" Katara asked. She was reluctant to point out Toph's literal blindness as a deficit, but everyone knew she was thinking it…especially Toph. "Lin isn't the only metalbender who could have been here."

Far from offended, however, Toph stooped low to the ground and guided her fingers over the long sheets of metal that had once been the iron floor as she explained, "Notice how neatly these strips have been pulled back. This isn't just a bunched mass of metal. It's clean and sleek. That's how _I_ do it. But I don't teach that technique to everyone because it's my own special thing. In fact, only two people besides me know it and you happened to be married to one of them. That only leaves Lin."

As she spoke, Toph became aware of a billowing piece of fabric hanging onto the edge of one iron strip. She plucked up the scrap of cloth and brought it to her nose, concluding with a single sniff that it had been torn from her daughter's tunic. Toph swallowed hard, dizzy with the realization.

While she had managed to contain her fear and anguish quite well until that moment, Toph suddenly felt inundated with the need to sob. Right then, she was hit with the sobering possibility that the tattered bit of material she'd just found might be all she had left of Lin now. It might prove to be the only piece of her daughter that she would have to hold on to. Something that seemed so trivial, worthless even had become infinitely precious in her eyes. The realization was terrifying…and painful. Toph's throat closed with swelling emotion as she carefully pocketed the material and stood up.

When she straightened, Aang asked, "What was that you found?"

Toph turned her face aside in a furtive effort to conceal her tears and recompose herself. "Might be a useful clue later," she mumbled in reply.

Sokka, however, was immediately suspicious of the strange, husky quality to her tone. He frowned. "Are you okay?"

As was her way, Toph shrugged off his concern. "I'm fine," she lied, "Why are you asking?"

He continued to regard Toph with a wary look, surprised and confused to see that she seemed on the verge of tears rather than elated by their discovery. "I don't know. You just seem…_subdued_. We know for sure that Lin and Tenzin were here now. We're obviously on the right trail. I thought you'd be happier."

"What is there to be happy about, Sokka?"

"Because this is a good thing," he prodded helpfully, "Because it means that the kids escaped?"

"Or tried to escape," Toph corrected grimly, "and failed. We don't know anything for certain yet."

"Let's err on the positive side for now, shall we?" Aang cautioned.

Toph muttered something unintelligible under her breath. "Why does that not surprise me?" she snorted in a louder tone, "Because we _do_ have so much to be positive about right now, don't we, Aang?"

"He has a point, Toph," Katara added quietly, though part of her sympathized with Toph having been in a similar mindset days earlier herself, "I think right now we could all use a little positivity."

"I'm glad that's working for you," Toph clipped. "Me? Not so much!"

More annoyed by her persistent sarcasm than hurt by it, Aang favored Toph with a sour look while Katara slowly pulled away from his side, her attention momentarily diverted. "This is more than we've had to go on in days, Toph. Forgive us for trying to be optimistic!"

"Guys, stop sniping at each other and come look at this." All bickering was set aside as Toph, Sokka and Aang pressed in closer together at Katara's insistent command. She pointed out the small, iron hook on the wall of the cage as well as the coil of chains on the floor. "It doesn't look like she and Tenzin were caged in here together," she told them. Katara unfurled the chain links and discovered that there was only one. "I think Lin was probably in here alone."

"That makes sense," Sokka remarked, "I'm sure they'd want to isolate them from each other after that first fight."

Toph nodded her agreement. "I think so too. But it doesn't matter if Lin was alone in this cell. We know that she would never leave without Tenzin so…"

"No, she wouldn't," Aang murmured, "Which means that she went after him when she escaped."

Sokka pivoted around in squinting surveillance of the camp, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he did so. "But where was she going?"

He had the answer to his question even before he had finished asking it. With keen accuracy he focused his attention on a second metal cage that was located clear on the other side of the site. Unlike Lin's prison cell, the second cage was turned completely on its side. As Sokka edged closer, his heart thumping in an escalating gallop, he could see that the metal of the second cage was covered in soot and almost pulverized to the point where it didn't even resemble a box anymore.

"It looks like it's been bludgeoned with a sledgehammer," Aang remarked with a deep frown.

"Or earth boulders," Sokka said, noting the large chunks of dirt and rock surrounding the iron box.

As she drew closer, Katara whimpered out loud to see its beaten condition. "What do you think happened?"

"Obviously, the escape was a bust and they were attacked," Toph concluded grimly.

Despite the fact she had asked, the possibility wasn't anything Katara hadn't considered herself. Still she shuddered at the theory. If the cage looked so misshapen on the outside, she cringed to wonder how the inside had fared. She almost didn't want Toph to tear aside the door because she was terrified of what they may discover. Breath suspended, she blindly groped for Aang's hand, squeezing his fingers in a vise-like grip as Toph stepped forward to peel back the large, iron door. Katara barely registered the grinding sound of twisting metal because her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears.

But it was not at all the macabre horror she imagined. Instead of finding the broken body of her 12 year old son, Katara discovered a haphazard pile of broken chain and a large, gaping hole in the back of the iron box instead. Having evidently held the same unspoken fear, both she and Aang against one another melted in relief. Once he was composed, Aang helped Sokka survey the fallen cage fully. Further inspection revealed a similar gash in the base of it as well.

"Okay well, this confirms that they were definitely here," Katara said, "Now what? Where are they now?"

"Well, we're left with two possibilities," Toph said, "Either they escaped…or their attempt to run didn't get them very far. And, based on what we've found thus far, I'm leaning towards the latter."

Sokka snapped a penetrating glance in her direction. "We don't know that yet, Toph."

She set her jaw tightly in response. "Well, please enlighten me on what we _do_ know, Sokka!"

"So this is what I think happened," Sokka theorized aloud as he mentally pieced together the events of the last week and a half, "Tenzin and Lin must have been ambushed for Oogi. There was a struggle. Somehow the kids were taken right along with Oogi, probably because the thieves figured they would follow after them anyway. No way would Tenzin let anyone make off with Oogi without giving them the fight of their lives. He loves that bison like Aang loves Appa."

After his friends nodded in agreement, he continued, "So they bring them back to their hideout…here. These people obviously didn't factor in the possibility that they'd kidnapped a metalbender when they bound them up. This puts Lin in the perfect position for a sneak attack. She escapes and probably burrows underground to infiltrate Tenzin's cage and bust him out as well. Sometime during the rescue their plan to run must have been discovered and that's why they were attacked." He gestured towards the trees beyond. "That's when Lin tore a hole in the back of the cage and they took off into the forest. The kidnappers retaliated and chased after them and the cage got demolished in the process."

"But why would they go through that trouble?" Katara wondered, "They had already decided to sell Oogi. They had the money from that. So why keep the kids at all?"

"I'm sure they had figured out by then that Tenzin was the Avatar's son," Toph considered, "From a criminal's standpoint, that's a rather lucrative boon. Maybe they hoped to make a profit off of that."

Aang fixed Sokka with an impatient look, desperately trying to ignore the swell of guilt that unfurled in his chest with Toph's theory. Discerning his thoughts, Katara placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he asked her brother, "So what's the bottom line? Do we search the woods now? Did the kids get away or were they recaptured?"

"How should I know?" Sokka asked somewhat crossly, "I don't have the 'all-seeing' eye, Aang! All I did was piece together the events with the evidence that we have available to us. But, if I had to guess based on the stuff we've found here, it's possible that Lin and Tenzin didn't get away."

"I just said that five seconds ago," Toph bit out crossly, "and you acted like it was the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard!"

"You weren't looking at the big picture then," he retorted, "But the facts are that we haven't heard anything concerning the kids for over a week. I know we've been on the move, but… Someone would have contacted us by now if they had gotten away."

Once again, and this time with surprisingly more force, Toph's emotions bubbled over. "So the big picture is these idiots might still have our kids and now we have absolutely no way of finding them, right? Basically, the situation is hopeless!"

The despair in Toph's voice shredded the remains of Katara's aching heart because it matched her own. Not willing to acknowledge that, however, she shook her head in denial. "No. We've come too far and searched too long to give up now."

"And what do we have to show for it, Katara?" Toph clipped brutally, "Absolutely _nothing_! There's no trace of our children! There's no ransom note! There's no indication that they are even alive! I know how this works! I'm a cop, remember? Maybe it's time we all accepted the possibility that we might never see Lin and Tenzin again!"

The words were stinging, cold and as blistering as a lash of fire and Toph knew it, but now that they were flowing from her lips like a vitriolic river she could not stop them.

"Let's be perfectly blunt here. We haven't heard from them and we probably won't. Someone took them, maybe even _killed_ them and maybe this is all we'll ever know!" If she been able to see her friends blanch in horror, Toph might have curtailed her rant, but she couldn't see and she was drowning in a vat of her own pain. "Sometimes it's more painful to hope when you have nothing to base it on."

"I can't accept that," Katara choked, "I will _never_ accept that, Toph."

"Do whatever you want, Katara," Toph invited almost coldly, "While I've never been one to buy into the ridiculous brand of optimism that you and Aang hold so dear, far be it from me to judge your method of coping! If that's what gets you through the day, knock yourselves out, but as for me? I'll hang out over here with the realists!"

As she stomped off towards the woods, leaving a speechless and devastated Aang and Katara in her wake, Sokka said lamely, "She…you know she didn't mean any of that…right? She's scared and she's frustrated and when she gets that way she's…well, she's Toph."

"But she has a point, doesn't she?" Aang considered gruffly, "We've been looking for the kids for days now and we've turned up nothing except that we know they were fighting to protect themselves and each other. But what if Toph is right? What if the reason we haven't heard anything is because they're truly gone?"

"They're not gone," Sokka declared in an implacable tone, "You don't get to think that way, Aang. You _can't_." He leveled a stern look at his sister. "_Neither_ of you. This isn't the time to lose hope. What we found here this afternoon is a good thing. I'll talk to Toph. What we need to do is sit down and regroup. Everyone leaves a trail. We just need to find it."

He left Aang and Katara feeling only marginally comforted by his words when he set out to search for Toph. He wasn't surprised to find her curled up at the base of a tree with her knees drawn to her chest and clutching a ragged piece of fabric to her cheek. What did surprise him was that she was sobbing like she was being ripped apart from the inside out. Sokka didn't doubt that she knew he was there but, rather than concealing her anguish as she usually did, as soon as he knelt down beside her she pitched herself into his arms to weep into the solid wall of his chest. He stroked her heaving back with a trembling hand.

"Did…did you see them out there?" he asked hesitantly around the acrid lump in his throat, knowing that she had "looked" for them without asking.

Toph shook her head against his chest, her fingers bunched almost desperately into the loose material of his tunic. "No…no…" she choked brokenly, "…they're not out there. I didn't see them… I didn't see anything at all…above ground or below it."

Sokka brushed a loving kiss across her temple. "So then that's good, right? They're not out here anywhere so that means they're okay."

She shook her head mournfully. "What if we never find them, Sokka? What if I never get her back? I'm trying not to lose hope, but it's been so long already and I'm getting so tired."

"You're going to get her back, Toph."

"I keep thinking about when I ran away from home with you guys…" she sniffled, "I never really thought about how much worry and misery I put my parents through when I did that. In the beginning, I didn't consider how they might have felt all that time I was away…wondering if I was okay…if I could take care of myself…if I was scared or if I was hungry… I was their little girl and I ran away from them.

"Now here I am in _their_ shoes, living _their_ nightmare. Maybe that's exactly what I deserve, but Aang and Katara don't." She choked out a mirthless laugh as she shrugged from Sokka's arms to scrub the tear tracks from her cheeks. "And all this time, _I'm_ the one who couldn't forgive _my parents_ but I hurt them far worse than they ever hurt me_._"

Sokka gently whisked away the fresh tears that continued to meander down her cheeks. "This isn't punishment for past sins, Toph. You didn't cause this. You didn't drive Lin away and it's not your fault."

"I tell myself that over and over, but it still feels like it," she muttered. Toph rolled to her feet with a dejected sigh. "You know that Lin will be twelve years old in a week and a half, right? We always have a special celebration for her birthday after the official party and it's always just the two of us. Not that being with you guys isn't great and fun, but…we like to have our own little thing too." Her shoulders bowed forward as if the weight of the entire universe had just settled down upon them. "This will be the first year that we weren't together to celebrate it."

"Maybe we won't find Lin by her twelfth birthday, Toph, but we are going to find her," Sokka replied softly, "Don't let yourself get so discouraged that you give up."

"I know," Toph whispered as she started to compose herself, "I'm not going to give up. I guess everything I've been trying to suppress since we found out they were missing came roaring to the surface and I couldn't stop it. I snapped. I thought it was going to be so easy to find them in the beginning, but it's turning into a nightmare."

"I'm not judging you, Toph. Your child is missing and you're scared."

"So are Aang and Katara and I was awful to them just now. I don't know how Katara will ever forgive me for the stuff I said to her before. I probably wouldn't if I was her."

"Apology accepted." Toph was so wrapped up in her remorse and grief that she didn't even realize Aang and Katara had sought them out until she heard Katara's unreserved declaration of forgiveness. She favored Toph with a tremulous smile. "Aang and I talked about it and we both agreed that you were due for a flip out."

Toph grunted a laugh. "Gee, thanks you guys. So you're saying I've been a walking basket case?"

"Well, that's probably harsher than we would have phrased it," Aang hedged, "but that's the general idea…yeah. Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah. A little bit. At least I don't feel like there's a weight on my chest anymore."

"You need to talk to us, Toph," Katara encouraged her gently. "It's not good to keep this stuff inside and we all know what you're going through. We've all say things we don't mean when we're upset. Aang and I don't hold it against you because we've felt the same way and we've both had our own meltdowns over it. It happens."

"Well, I haven't had a meltdown," Sokka interjected dryly, "One of us has to keep it together, you know?"

Katara flicked him with a sardonic eye roll. "Oh whatever would we do without you, Sokka?"

"So could we maybe hug this out now?" Aang asked somewhat timidly, "I know we haven't done it in a while, but I could really use one after the week we've had." With varying degrees of reluctant groans and sighs of genuine relief, the four converged together in a group hug much the way they had done when they were young kids. But, despite all the grumbling, the each took a large measure of comfort in the embrace.

Aang closed his eyes and squeezed them all hard. "I've really missed this, you guys."

"Wanna know something shocking, Twinkle Toes?" Toph murmured in a quivering tone, "Me too. I love you guys."

"Well, as wonderful as this love fest is, I, for one, have better things to do," Sokka announced drolly. While they had been embracing, his ever observant eyes had fallen on the telltale path of broken twigs and crushed leaves a few feet away from them. He carefully studied the subtle differences in the terrain more closely, gradually becoming aware of the deep, rutted tracks that trailed along the thick bases of the surrounding trees. _Wagon tracks_…

Unaware of his find, Katara reared back to glare at her brother. "Sokka, what could possibly be more important than hugging your friends and sharing a heartfelt moment?"

He pointed over towards the suspicious markings with a triumphant smile. "How about following those suspicious wagon tracks over there?" Aang and Katara lurched around with a hopeful gasp, causing Sokka's smile to widen. "What did I tell you guys before? _Everyone_ leaves a trail."

* * *

Lin and Tenzin ended up staying with Saomik an additional two days while Lin finished recovering from her ordeal. Their host was a kind and hospitable woman who clearly enjoyed their company which made lingering on in her home exceedingly easy. After all they had endured, the brief bit of peace they found there was welcome and necessary. But it couldn't last.

They knew that they still had a long journey ahead of them in addition to dodging the crazy firebender who had for some mysterious reason made it his personal mission in life to capture them. The situation was dangerous. They could not stay in one place for too long. With that in mind, Tenzin and Lin wisely cut short their stay with the waterbender once Lin was strong enough to resume the journey.

Not surprisingly, Saomik was disappointed with their decision and reluctant to let them leave, but when they insisted on doing so anyway, she surprised them by not only giving them food, clothing and supplies for the journey, but money as well. No amount of polite refusal would deter her and so, eventually, Tenzin and Lin hesitantly accepted all that she offered to them. After they promised to keep in touch, Lin and Tenzin were on their way towards Ba Sing Se once again, this time on foot, but no less determined.

Now they had been traveling for three full days without incident. Always with them was the fear that they would be ambushed or attacked, so they were careful to keep close tabs on one another. Rarely did they venture too far from their campsite or even out of one another's sights. Even when Tenzin meditated, he did so within close proximity of their encampment. It wasn't necessarily the most ideal setting either because Lin inevitably drove him crazy with her constant noises and questions. But the close quarters were affecting Tenzin in a different way altogether as well.

Without warning or explanation, the strange feelings he had developed for Lin over the last few months began to assert themselves with surprising force. Much to his chagrin, he would find himself staring at her at awkward moments, ridiculously fascinated by even her most annoying habits. It was weird…and unwelcome. Tenzin hoped fervently that meditation would help to clear his mind and heart and help him to focus on the more important things. Consequently, he meditated a great deal over the course of two days, a fact which exasperated Lin because she felt like he was deliberately ignoring her.

He didn't really know how to explain to her what the problem was, so he let her assume the worse. Somehow having her snipe at him was better than the prospect of her avoiding him altogether because he made her uncomfortable with confessions of adoration. So, like the two days that had preceded it, Tenzin spent a portion of his day in a deep trance. Lin, surprisingly enough, had given him very little trouble beforehand so he was able to meditate longer.

However, when he resurfaced from that tranquil plain an hour later Tenzin found their camp curiously deserted. Lin was nowhere in sight. Immediately, his heartbeat quickened. Tenzin instantly rolled to his feet in a panic and began running in no particular direction, calling out for her as he did. He zipped from one direction to another, using his airbending to propel himself forward faster and cover more ground.

He couldn't imagine that he had gone so deep into meditation that someone had snatched her while he was unaware, but that was the exactly worry that ran through his mind as he raced across the surrounding area in search of her. His escalating fear eventually brought him to the edge of the riverbank…and a bathing Lin. She scowled at him in exasperation as he skidded to a halt with a discomfited yelp.

"Why are you screaming for me like a lunatic?" Lin demanded crossly, facing him with a marked lack of modestly, her bare breasts exposed in the gleaming afternoon sun. "You ignore me for days and now I can't even take a bath in peace!" Tenzin couldn't speak, couldn't think. Belatedly, he realized his eyes were glued to her breasts and so he pinched them shut. Lin glared at him in mounting frustration. "Well?" She plunked her hands onto her hips. "What's your problem?"

Tenzin clamped his hands over his eyes for added measure, but he couldn't un-see the vision of her womanly contours in his mind all pale and soft and damp. He felt dizzy. His palms began to sweat. "Lin, what are you…? Wh-Why didn't you tell me you were taking a bath?" he stammered, blushing hotly, "Didn't you hear me calling? Good grief!"

"Yes, I heard you," she sniffed, "and I was ignoring you. Sucks for the shoe to be on the other foot, doesn't it?"

"You're acting like a child!" he retorted.

"I've got news for you, Tenzin! I _am_ a child and so are you!" She scowled at him again, confused and annoyed by his peculiar behavior. "Why are you standing there with your hands over your face? You look ridiculous!"

"Because you're taking a bath, that's why!" Tenzin cried as if the reason should be obvious.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. Not to Lin anyway. She shrugged and fell back into the water to stroke lazily across the surface. "What's the big deal? You've seen it all before. Nothing new here." Lin rolled her eyes when he continued to keep his covered. "Please tell me that you're not buying into that stuff our parents always say about us needing to have more 'decorum' now, are you?"

"I just don't know if we should parade around in front of each other naked anymore, that's all," Tenzin replied rather lamely, "It's…it's unseemly."

Lin righted herself and glared at him in renewed annoyance. "For who, Little Lord Fussybritches? If I'm not offended by your bird chest being exposed to me every ten seconds while you 'meditate'," she ranted, snidely throwing up air quotes with the last word, "then why do you have a problem with me being naked? It's the same thing!"

"It is _not_ the same thing, Lin!" Tenzin retorted hotly, "And I do not have a bird chest!"

"Whatever," Lin grunted, "Besides, I know you're only being all weird because I have _them_ now."

Tenzin grimaced in confusion. "Them?"

"You know…boobies."

He peeked between his fingers just in time to see her cupping her apple sized breasts, thoughtfully testing the weight of each of them in her palms with pursed lips. No amount of meditation in the world was going to wipe that image from his mind! Tenzin swallowed back an agonized groan, horrified when he felt the sudden and unprecedented desire to kiss her right then. The idea struck him as completely foreign but once it was in his head, Tenzin couldn't get it out.

Unaware of his mortified discomfort, however, Lin remarked in a pensive mumble, "I suppose they do make me look kind of silly, huh?"

Tenzin did an abrupt about face. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know he had to get out of there! "Okay, I'll let you get back to your bath now! Have fun! Bye!"

"Wait!" Tenzin froze in his tracks, but he didn't turn to face her because he was too horrified and humiliated. Lin expelled a longsuffering groan. "What is wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird?"

"I'm not acting weird!" The denial sounded as if it had been choked out of him.

Lin scowled at his back, exasperated. "You are so acting weird!" she accused, "Why are you treating me like this? Are you mad at me? Did I do something?"

He slumped forward with regret at the hurt vulnerability in her question. "No, Lin, I'm not mad at you. I know I've been a jerk to you lately. I can't explain why, but I'm sorry, okay? I'll be better."

"Why can't you explain?" she pressed, "What's going on with you? Why won't you look at me right now and why do you sound so funny? Your voice is all high and squeaky. Are you getting sick or something?"

He couldn't explain it to her, didn't even want to make the attempt. Instead, Tenzin squared his shoulders and intoned with as much dignity as he could manage, "I'm not sick. I'm fine. We're fine." He started back in the direction he'd come from, desperately needing distance. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm going to go meditate some more. I'll see you back at camp."

"Okay," she murmured, contemplating his departing form with a hurt and bewildered frown, "See ya."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven **

By the time Tenzin and Lin arrived in Ba Sing Se the tension between them had lessened considerably. True to his word, Tenzin made an effort not to make Lin feel so isolated and ignored, but the task was a difficult one. Being around her was complicated and a little painful. Not because he didn't enjoy her company. Rather it was quite the opposite. He enjoyed her company a little too much.

The inclination to kiss her had not faded, despite his fervent hopes that the desire would be fleeting. Instead, in his unconscious moments, Tenzin would find himself replaying that day he had found her at the river in his mind and all the intense emotions he had felt right then would come rushing back. No matter how many attempts he made to purge it from his brain, the memory would creep in again. He felt like he was going crazy.

Tenzin could only pray that rebelling hormones were making him want to kiss his best friend would eventually even themselves out and he could finally regain full control of his brain and body. However, somewhere in the recesses of his mind Tenzin recognized that hoping for that was an exercise in futility. He had been fighting his feelings for Lin for some time now. They grew bigger and messier as the days progressed. He was beginning to think that things would _never_ go back to normal. Tenzin was disconcerted by the thought…and frightened too.

Inevitably then, he was still obsessing about it days later when he and Lin finally reached Ba Sing Se's great wall. He was shaken out of his brooding thoughts when Lin abruptly stopped short and grabbed his hand. She flashed him an uncertain smile.

"This is it, Tenzin. I'm really going to do it." She regarded him with bright eyes filled with nervous hope and excitement. "I'm really going to meet my dad."

That was just the reminder that Tenzin needed. This wasn't about him. This was about _her_. Lin had almost _died_ to make it to this point. The least he could do was give her his full attention and support her in whatever way he could. Holding on to that mental admonition, Tenzin smiled back at her and squeezed her fingers.

"Yeah, you are going to meet him. How do you feel about that? Are you scared?"

"Honestly? I actually feel like I might throw up," she revealed candidly.

Tenzin choked out a stunned laugh. "Yeah, don't do that. Not a good first impression at all."

A little dumbfounded by his attempt at levity, Lin surveyed him with a laughing look. "No, way. Did _you_ just make a joke? Now, Tenzin, don't be alarmed but I think you might be loosening up a little."

He bit back his answering smile. "Well, let's just keep that our little secret."

"I won't tell if you won't."

As they neared the city gates, a relatively new feature the Earth King had erected only a year prior to Tenzin's birth, they eventually fell in line with the huge crowd that was already flocking inside. They didn't stand out a great deal either given that they were dressed as any other Earth Kingdom citizen might have been. However, the amazed gaping and awed intakes of breath from them as they passed beyond the looming wall gave away their tourist status in a heartbeat.

Although Tenzin had been privileged to accompany his father on business to Ba Sing Se a few times in the past, he never failed to be awestruck by the city's vast size and opulent splendor. The congested streets and bustling pedestrians reminded him poignantly of home. Ba Sing Se had the same busy, commercial atmosphere that Republic City possessed and yet, despite their size and burgeoning populations, both cities managed to remain welcoming.

Tenzin and Lin pivoted slowly in the center of the walkway, impervious to the people who impatiently shouldered past them to get to the next destination. They drank in their surroundings in great, thirsty gulps. Lin smiled over at Tenzin. "I love coming to this place," she sighed, "My mom and I haven't visited here in a long, long time…not since I was four or five I think." She sobered a bit with the mention of her mother. "I guess now I know why."

"I don't think she was trying to deliberately keep the truth from you, Lin…or keep you separated from your dad," Tenzin reasoned softly, "You should give her the benefit of the doubt."

"You don't think I've tried?" she hissed, "The last time we were here in Ba Sing Se, we spent all of our time at the palace! Never once did she say a word about my father! She didn't even bother to take me to see him!"

"Maybe she had her reasons." It was a weak excuse, Tenzin knew, but it was the best he could give her.

"Well, _her _reasons aren't _my_ reasons," Lin muttered stubbornly, "I'm going to have a relationship with my father whether she likes it or not! And if she doesn't well…maybe I'll just come here to Ba Sing Se and live with him instead!"

"Lin!" Tenzin cut her a sharpened glance. "You don't really mean that…do you?" He couldn't imagine that she did. Tenzin still remembered vividly how she had whimpered for her mother continuously when her fever was raging. No matter how angry Lin was, she needed Toph whether she wanted to admit it or not.

"I don't know what I mean," she mumbled, "She lied to me my whole life, Tenzin. I'm not just going to get over it. I can't. And I don't know if I can forgive her for it either."

"Don't rush to decide that just yet." Tenzin gave her fingers another reassuring squeeze. "We'll figure it out." Lin nodded though her expression said that she didn't have much confidence in that regard. Sighing inwardly, Tenzin turned his attention back towards the winding city square. "I think maybe we're two or three blocks away from the rail system," he said, "Should take about a ten to fifteen minute walk to get there and then we can take the train to the middle ring."

"Can we afford to do that?" Lin asked, "Will we still have enough money to make it to Omashu?" Tenzin had been unofficially designated as their money keeper and accountant so he was aware of what they had available to spend. He had been very careful and even downright frugal during their journey, but even with his miserly ways Lin knew that their funds weren't going to last indefinitely.

"I don't know if we have enough to make it to Omashu, but I'm sure your dad will probably help us out with that. Who knows? He might even end up taking us there himself."

Lin smiled at the thought, warmed inwardly by the fantasy of her father swooping in to help her in her time of need. "Yeah, I think he will." She figuratively cradled that mental picture close to her heart. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Alright," Tenzin sighed, "Let's be on our way then." He started forward and tugged her from behind to follow him only to be met with surprising resistance. Lin stayed rooted in place. Tenzin angled an expectant glance at her over his shoulder. "What's wrong? Having second thoughts?"

Her expression was a strange mixture of incredulity, shock and horror as she raised her arm and pointed towards something just beyond his shoulder. "What is _that_?"

Tenzin gamely followed her line of sight only to have a reaction similar to Lin's. He scowled deeply. "What the…"

_That_ was a large information board situated in the very center of the crisscrossing sidewalks. But it wasn't so much the board, however, as what was on the board that alarmed Tenzin and Lin. Featured very prominently on the polished, wood façade were two very large and very detailed posters of them.

"You have got to be kidding me," Lin muttered as they both crept nearer for closer inspection.

Suddenly, the two were hyperaware of the fact that their likenesses were actually draped all throughout the square, on every post and building front within a two block radius. They each expelled mutual groans of consternation, ducking their heads in a furtive attempt to conceal their faces as they carefully surveyed the notices. The tension they felt was heightened to a ridiculous degree when they recognized that their discovery was fairly imminent with so many people milling around.

"Tenzin," Lin growled through clenched teeth, "why are there wanted posters of us hanging all over the place?"

"Technically, they're not wanted posters," he corrected, "They're _missing_ posters. And I'm assuming that our parents are the people who put them up."

"Well, thank you for that clarification," Lin threw out sarcastically only half a second before the rest of what he'd said penetrated her senses. With a panicked yelp, Lin quickly snagged hold of Tenzin's forearm and dragged him over to the nearest concealed alleyway, out of sight from passerby. "What do you mean you assume our parents put them up?" she demanded fiercely, "Are you saying that you think they're _here_?"

Tenzin was quite reluctant to answer that, especially because Lin looked as if she could cheerfully rip out his throat with her teeth. Still, he swallowed, gulped and replied nonetheless. "I think it's fairly obvious that they are, Lin. I doubt the Earth King cares about us that much."

Lin dropped her face into her hands with a groan. "Oh no… Oh please no…"

"The important thing is not to panic."

"Oh, I'm way past panicking!" Lin exclaimed, "I'm headed towards full blown meltdown territory! This is a disaster!"

After reaching forward to pat her shoulder consolingly and then thinking better of it, Tenzin dropped his hand and offered an incredibly insufficient, "I…I'm sorry, Lin."

She jerked up her head and glowered at him. "You _should_ be sorry!" she hissed, "This is completely your fault! You just _had _to write them a letter, didn't you?"

Tenzin dropped his eyes in sheepish remorse. "I know! It was a stupid move! I already said I was sorry a hundred times!"

"I wish that meant something, Tenzin! Unfortunately your apologies don't fix anything!" She pressed the heels of her hands to her pulsing temples. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Maybe we should head over to the palace and turn ourselves in," he supposed morosely, "It's only a matter of time before they catch us. Your mom probably has metalbending cops patrolling the whole city looking for us. At this point, surrender is better than capture."

Lin groaned anew. "This is such a nightmare. This whole trip has been one step forward and fifty steps back."

"It's been the worst," Tenzin sighed in miserable agreement. "And when I tell my dad that I lost Oogi, he's going to be so disappointed in me…" he went on in lamentation, his dread mounting, "…I promised him that I would take care of him. He's always drilled it into me that taking care of a sky bison is a big responsibility and I told him I could do it. He's never going to trust me again."

The reminder of how much he had lost to help her managed to quell Lin's anger towards Tenzin and she regarded him with a heavy sigh of resignation. "It doesn't have to end like this," she decided after a moment, "We can still do this. We can meet my dad and find Oogi just like we planned."

"Are you nuts? Our faces are all over this city! Our parents are probably scouring the place looking for us as we speak! Even if we made it to your dad's place, your mom is probably having his apartment watched. It's over, Lin!"

She shook her head in stubborn refusal. "No. I'm not ready for it to be over. I'm so close, Tenzin, and I have waited too long for this. I won't give up now. I can't do it."

"Lin, I don't thi—,"

"—If you want to go to the palace, I won't stop you," she interrupted softly, "I know you miss your parents and I know that this has been a hard journey for you, but… I'm not going home yet, Tenzin. I still have miles to go."

He was clearly disappointed by her resolution, but also equally determined to support her decision nonetheless. "I'm not leaving you, Lin," he uttered softly, "I'm with you until the end. So I guess we need to get it together and come up with a plan B."

After thinking about their circumstances for a few minutes, Lin said, "Alright, my mom's cops…they're good, but they're not exactly masters of stealth. I could spot them easy. So if they're hanging out around my dad's apartment, we'll run and regroup."

"Okay, but what about getting there? Our pictures are all over the place, remember? Someone's going to recognize us and turn us in!"

"Well, we don't exactly look like those pictures right now, Tenzin," she considered shrewdly, "They're looking for a little bald airbender and his sassy earthbending friend. But they're not going to look twice at 12 year old Earth Kingdom citizen escorting his poor, helpless and _blind _sister through the city streets."

"But you're not blind."

Lin thumped his head in exasperation. "No duh. But I can fake it like no one's business."

Tenzin grimaced at her, rubbing the sore spot on his temple. "What if this doesn't work?"

"Trust me. It will work."

And it did. Years and years of studying her mother's subtle movements and facial affect had taught Lin a great deal about how to walk and emote like a blind person and she pulled off the ruse beautifully. Rather than receiving suspicious stares and enduring endless pointing during their brief train ride to the middle ring, Tenzin and Lin were instead regarded with pity and clucking murmurs of compassion. Some people even offered "the poor dears" money. However, Tenzin's conscience rebelled at the prospect of fleecing such kindhearted individuals out of their hard-earned cash so he refused their generosity. Of course, Lin berated him for being a fool.

"I wish I had known how lucrative this blind bit could be a week ago," she muttered to him in aside, "We could have made a fortune!"

"You have no shame, Lin Beifong."

Lin shrugged, unperturbed by his reproachful frown. "Eh, you have enough for the both of us."

Ten minutes and several bickering exchanges later they reached their destination in the middle ring. Once they stepped off the train, Lin passed Tenzin the scrap of paper on which she had scrawled her father's address. He glanced from the paper to her with a questioning look.

"I can't very well read it when I'm blind, now can I?" she chirped with a cheeky smile.

Tenzin regarded her with narrowed eyes. "Someday all of your lies are going to come back and bite you in the butt," he warned her direly.

"Yes, I know, oh great arbiter of right and wrong, but 'someday' isn't today," she sighed with an impatient flip of her hand, "Now can you tell me which direction so we can get on with it, please?"

He grunted unhappily and snagged hold of her wrist. "We go this way."

Tenzin didn't have to lead her far. Her father's apartment was located within walking distance of the rail. However, at the sight of the door just across the street from where they stood, Lin once again froze in place. Tenzin darted a nervous glance back at her. "What's wrong now? Do you see one of your mom's cops?" he fretted.

"No…" she whispered slowly, "…the street looks clear."

"Then why did you stop? His door is right over there."

Lin threw him a panicked glance. "I…I know. He's right there and suddenly I can't move."

Tenzin brushed his thumb across the inside of her palm. "You really are scared, huh?"

She managed a stiff nod, unable to make the confession out loud. "I guess…I just realized that I don't know what I'm going to say to him, Tenzin. What if this doesn't go the way I want? What if he doesn't believe me? What if he's angry that I showed up unannounced? What if he has a wife and a family now?" She began wringing her hands in rising agitation. "I didn't think about any of that before."

"And don't think about it now," Tenzin advised her in a soothing whisper, "Just go up to the door. Knock on it and introduce yourself. The rest will come to you after that."

Lin nibbled her lower lip, looking every bit like the little girl she was in that moment. "What if he doesn't like me? What if I'm not what he wants?"

"It's impossible not to like you, Lin," Tenzin whispered, "Believe me, I've tried."

She grunted a short laugh before sobering again. "Will you come with me?"

Tenzin blinked at her in surprise, never anticipating that she might want her first meeting with her dad to happen with an audience. "You want me to?" She jerked a small nod. "Then I will."

Buoyed by his support, Lin grabbed hold of Tenzin's hand before her frayed nerves could cow her completely and dragged him along behind her across the street. Once they were standing directly in front of the door, she didn't give herself time to think about it any longer. She took a breath, readied her smile and knocked briskly. A few seconds later a smiling woman answered. Lin's smile faltered a bit, imagining in that second that one of her worst fears had just been realized. Her father had another family.

"Hello," she greeted in a subdued tone, "I'm looking for a man called Qi Xing Zheng. Are you his wife?"

"His wife? Oh, goodness no!" the woman laughed. "My name Ling. Qi Xing sold my husband and me this apartment years ago."

Lin slumped forward with a crestfallen whimper. "Sold it to you? You mean he doesn't live here anymore?"

"Not for some time, I'm afraid," Ling confirmed sadly.

While Lin struggled to keep herself from falling apart, Tenzin quietly stepped in to take control of the conversation. "Do you have a forwarding address for him perhaps? We need to find him."

"I don't. I'm sorry," she murmured, her sympathetic gaze lingering on Lin's bent head.

"Do you know if he's still in the city?" Tenzin asked immediately after.

"I can't tell you where he's gone, but I doubt he stayed in Ba Sing Se," Ling sighed, "I can tell you that Qi Xing is a very popular man these days. Just a week ago, a blind woman was here looking for him as well."

Lin snapped to attention. "A blind woman?"

"Yes. Pretty and petite, but very stern…tough. She was pretty no-nonsense when she showed up here, but I could tell by her demeanor that she was anxious."

"Was anybody with her?" Tenzin followed up quickly.

"No. She came alone." Both Tenzin and Lin reacted to that statement with disappointed mumbles but for altogether different reasons. "Technically, she wasn't looking for Qi Xing when she was here," Ling added rather smoothly, "She was looking for the _two children_ who were looking for him." She bounced a shrewd glance between Lin and Tenzin. "You're not quite how she described you to me, but…I'm assuming you're the children she was talking about."

"Qi Xing is my friend's father," Tenzin explained when Lin appeared too anxious to respond to the woman. "She's been looking for him for a while now. We only need to know where to look next."

Ling frowned in surprise. "Qi Xing never mentioned that he had a daughter. Then again, we didn't know that much about him either."

"It wouldn't matter anyway. He didn't know about me," Lin interjected in a gruff tone, "My mother lied to him. She lied to _me_." Her voice broke on the last word and the frustrated tears that she had been fighting to keep at bay for the last minute finally spilled over. "I need to find him now. Please, can you help me do that?"

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I don't know where he's gone. But I do know that your mother seemed extremely worried about you when she came here last week. I'm sure she wants to know you're okay."

Lin turned her face aside, setting her jaw obstinately. "Who said anything about her being my mother?"

"I have two eyes. The resemblance is very strong," Lin remarked softly as she studied Lin's dejected profile, "And now that I look more closely…I can see Qi Xing in you as well."

That observation melted Lin's icy shell and she fixed Ling with wide, wet eyes full of hope. "You do? I really look like him?" Ling nodded, both saddened by Lin's obvious elation over that fact and filled with protective feelings as well. Lin shuffled closer, her countenance open and eager. "What else can you tell me? What…what does he look like…my dad?"

"He's a tall man. Lean. Very charming and very good-looking. I'm sure he could be a formidable earthbender if he bothered to apply himself." Ling refrained from tacking on that Qi Xing Zheng was also a manipulative liar, a thief and a conman. She couldn't bring herself to shatter Lin's illusions about her father, not when she had obviously pinned so much on meeting the man. "Your father is a very complicated man."

"I need to find him," Lin reiterated desperately, "Please…if you have even the slightest idea where he could have gone…anything…"

Ling shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to tell you. Qi Xing left here in a hurry. I think…I think he mentioned something once about having wealthy relatives in Omashu, but I didn't take it seriously. He always liked to make up fantastic stories about himself."

"Then that's where we'll go! We need to get to Omashu," Lin told Tenzin excitedly, "It's perfect because we were headed there anyway! Tenzin, this is a sign. I know it!"

"Wait a minute," Ling protested when they would have run off to find the nearest caravan, "Are you just going to pick up and travel to Omashu without a word to your families? There are posters of you everywhere, all over the city! Your parents are beside themselves with worry. You can't leave again!"

The argument made undeniable chinks in Lin's emotional armor, pricking her all over with pangs of guilt. Annoyed and resentful by that fact, Lin hopped on the defensive. She regarded Ling with an obstinate scowl and crossed arms. "My mother kept me from my father for my entire life. I'm not going to let her do it another minute."

"I could call the authorities," Ling threatened halfheartedly.

"We'd be long gone by the time they arrived," Lin replied, "We've been running this whole time. What's one more?"

"We have to go to Omashu for more reasons than this and we're going to go there no matter what," Tenzin added softly, "It would be easier if you didn't give us a hard time about it." When Ling continued to appear torn he said, "We know what we're doing and we'll be fine."

Ling hunched forward in defeat. "What about your parents? They'll come by looking for you again. What should I tell them?"

Tenzin and Lin exchanged a lingering glance before Tenzin finally answered with a trembling sigh, "Tell them that we're sorry that we worried them and that we love them very much. Tell them that we're safe and we'll be home soon."


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

They were walking into an ambush and truthfully it was exactly what they wanted.

Sokka had tracked the kidnappers to their new hideout in less than five days. Because all of their clues had been on the ground, Sokka, Aang, Katara and Toph had little choice but to make the majority of the journey, which had taken them a considerable distance and deep into the mountain range that bordered the country, on foot. Still, their progress had remained swift and steady and that was primarily because Sokka was directing the mission. The WaterTribe warrior was highly motivated. He was spurred on, not only by the unflagging determination to rescue his nephew and surrogate daughter, but also to keep his friends and family's lagging spirits lifted and their hope alive. They felt helpless and scared and riddled with guilt and the emotions were beginning to have a corrosive effect on them. Sokka knew that Aang, Katara and Toph wouldn't have a moment's peace until they held their children in their arms again. Truthfully, neither would he.

At present, they were descending towards a wide valley plain, flanked on both sides by craggy mountain steps of striated rock which were covered in a blanket of gnarled trees and sparse green shrubbery. A few miles back, they had made the decision as a group to leave Appa and Oogi behind in a safe place. Sokka had known that they were getting close to their destination and two ten ton sky bison would simply be too conspicuous. It was better for the four of them to travel swiftly and compactly. Presently, however, they were having a difficult time being inconspicuous on their own.

Despite the soft soles of their shoes, each scuffing step they made against the shifting rocks beneath their feet echoed sharply through the hollow cavern. Their creeping advance inevitably disturbed the small flying creatures tucked away in the rock crevices. The furious flapping of their wings as they took flight and flocked around the small group before soaring towards the blue skies exploded in the relative silence. The noise they made hardly mattered though. The gang had company of a more human sort, of which they were very well aware. In their favor, however, was the fact that the waiting assassins in the treetops above had no way of knowing that Toph had detected their concealed presence among the sturdy tree branches long before they even knew the gang was on the horizon.

Consequently, when the sleek darts split the air with a soft, hissing whir, Aang was ready. He reflexively bent up a protective fortress of air around the small group of four. The stiff cycles of wind caused the darts to rebound off the cylinder and sent them ricocheting neatly back in the direction from which they had come. An instant later muted thuds followed by the sounds of abbreviated grunts of surprise reverberated faintly through the grotto. Several men slid unconscious from the treetops and plummeted towards the earth in cataleptic stupors. Instinctively, Aang dropped his dome and jetted out a pillow of air to cushion their falls.

His act of kindness was used as an opening for attack. Chaos exploded. Another rain of darts quickly followed, this time blocked by quick defensive moves of earth, water and boomerang. The four scrambled in opposite directions for cover before a fresh wave could come. Toph quickly jetted out her winding metal rope. She yanked one unprepared assailant from his hiding place before flinging him aside as if he were little more than confetti.

As his terrified yelps were still echoing off the rocky walls, Sokka knocked another from his perch with the aid of his boomerang. At his side, Katara worked in tandem with her brother and froze the man to the cliff-side with a wedge of ice in between knocking aside another man with her water whip. While the others fended off the incoming barbs, Aang held back any pressing attackers with several stiff blasts of air.

They enemy, realizing they were losing numbers at an alarming rate, decided to reevaluate their strategy. A warning call went up from among the enemy's ranks. "Fall back to the defensive position!"

Once the cry was given, yet more men descended gracefully from the leafy canopies overhead to make running contact with the earth. However, one man in particular raised up the ground on his descent from the trees and went speeding towards the valley below on an undulating wave of terrain. In the blur of battling bodies, Katara only caught a brief glimpse of his face in between dodging clumps of earth and zinging darts. However, one glimpse was all she needed to recognize the man. She had been studying every nuance of his wanted poster for more than a week. It was the earthbender they had been searching for all along.

"That's him!" she cried to Sokka in between defensive blows, "That's the guy! That's Hong!"

"Take him now!" Sokka managed to yell back as he rolled and ducked and punched, "Don't let him get away, Katara! He's our only chance to find the kids!"

Katara glanced down the valley, alarmed by the yawning distance Hong had already gained in such a short time. Reacting on pure instinct, she formed a solid glove of ice around her fist and punched her current assailant out cold. While her brother held off further attacks, Katara hurriedly threw up a sliding path of ice and went chasing after Hong, whipping aside all who dared to block her path with punishing smacks of water.

Meanwhile, Aang, Sokka and Toph found themselves encircled by the half dozen men commissioned to stay behind and hold them at bay. Sokka whipped his boomerang from his belt and hurled it at the two men nearest him. He nicked them both across the forehead in one fluid blow before they could execute their own attacks. As they crumpled to the ground in unison, he caught him boomerang in one fist on its twirling return and delivered a definitive backhanded punch to the assailant attempting a sneak attack from behind.

Only three men remained. The most prudent of the three swept the Avatar and his companions with a quick glance, pondered his odds and then beat a hasty retreat. Toph and Aang worked as a team to neatly dispatch the remaining two. In several facile turns of his body, Aang kicked and punched out a rapid series of wind gusts that blew his opponents off their feet and sent them tumbling in the opposite direction. They barely managed to stagger to their feet to counter before Toph sent them airborne on an earth spike. When they landed, she shot out a coiling length of rope to bind them tightly to the nearest tree trunk. After taking a few seconds to survey their handiwork, the three wasted no time taking off down the valley to join Katara.

There were only four thugs left, two nonbenders, a firebender and Hong, and Katara was holding her own against them all. In a versatile strategy of water and ice, she managed to push back the two benders and imprison one of the nonbenders in a fort made of ice spikes. When the fourth man caught sight of Aang, Sokka and Toph's approach, he ran. He made it only a few steps before Toph bended him in place with shackles of earth. The remaining two that remained, upon seeing that they were outnumbered and outmatched, recognized that the battle was over and the time had come to for them to flee. They abruptly broke off in their attack and scattered in different directions across the valley plain.

"Aang and I will take Hong," Sokka told Katara and Toph, "You two go after that firebender!"

Katara wanted to argue because she wanted Hong for herself, but she knew there was no time to squabble. With a deep scowl of frustration, she followed Toph in pursuit of the firebender while Aang and Sokka chased down Hong. However, Katara soon forgot her irritation when she recognized that her prey was not going to be easy to pin down. The firebender was fast. He used his bending to jet-propel himself across the valley.

Even being propelled along on waves of earth and ice, Katara knew that she and Toph would be unable to catch up. Recognizing that he would escape if she didn't do something fast, Katara skidded to a halt and bent up the water from the verdant grass just beyond him. She formed it into a wide wall of ice in hopes of slowing him down.

It was too big for him to simply veer off course and go around it, so he skillfully melted it instead. As the ice disintegrated into a useless pool of water, he threw a smug grin back at Katara, not realizing that Toph had built an identical wall of earth directly behind where the ice barricade had been. When he turned back around he didn't have time to avoid it. He slammed into the façade with bone rattling force before crashing to the ground in a groaning heap. Seconds later, Katara and Toph came running forward to loom over his prone form.

"Nice work," Katara commended.

"You too."

She appraised Toph with a wry, sideways smile. "I know the circumstances aren't ideal but…we make a good team, don't we?"

Toph smiled back. "We always have, Katara."

"Are the boys done yet?"

The Earthbender paused, easily sensing the vibrations of Aang and Sokka's continued failed efforts to lock down their prey. "Nope. Maybe _we _should have gone after Hong. We know how to get the job done."

As the two women stooped down to scoop up the unconscious man, Toph wisecracked, "You know, no matter how many times we do that wall trick together it will never get old." Katara grunted a short laugh in spite of her rolling anxiety and Toph briefly shared her moment of mirth as well. But it passed much too quickly as they hoisted their captive upright. The bit of respite had been brief and bittersweet, but it was still a needed release in tension that both women desperately needed.

While Toph and Katara headed back towards the campsite, Aang and Sokka remained in hot pursuit of theirs. Hong used a band of earth to make his escape, barreling across the plain with no trees or even the well placed boulder to slow him down. Growling with impatience and beyond ready to end the chase, Aang whipped up a large sphere of air beneath his feet and caught hold of Sokka's forearm as he did so that his friend was balanced on the speeding cylinder with him.

As Aang kept Sokka steady and prevented him from falling off his perch, Sokka reached for his boomerang yet again and angled it. Despite his precarious perch, Sokka managed to execute a perfect throw right before Aang lost his grip and Sokka went tumbling to the ground beneath. Aang dissolved his scooter and scrambled to Sokka's side just as the warrior's weapon found its target. It thwacked Hong hard in the back of his head. The thud echoed through the valley and the momentum threw him forward off his earthen perch, knocking him face first to the ground. A few seconds later, Sokka rolled to his feet and deftly caught his boomerang when it came whizzing back around towards them. He kissed it soundly.

"That's for always coming back to me, old friend."

Relieved that Sokka hadn't been seriously injured in the fall, Aang rolled his eyes. "If you're finished romancing your boomerang, do you think we could go get the guy now? I'd like to find the kids and go home."

"Oh yeah," Sokka said with a sheepish blush, re-sheathing his weapon, "Absolutely."

By the time Aang and Sokka had brought Hong back to the camp to join Katara and Toph, the earthbender was beginning to come to and was already attempting to plead his case. After Toph secured him with the same metal ropes she had used to subdue his other three comrades, she flung him to the ground alongside them with a disgusted grunt. Hong continued to loudly proclaim his innocence.

"I don't want to hear your excuses," Toph bit out, "The only thing keeping me from snapping your neck right now is the fact I need information from you! Tell me where you're keeping our children and I might reconsider breaking you in half!"

"Yeah, Hong," the firebender sneered in a mocking tone. It was almost comical that he should be so sardonic and smug given the fact that half of his face had already begun to swell as a result of the unforgiving contact he'd made with Toph's earthen wall ten minutes before. Still, in spite of that, he seemed to take great pleasure in baiting his companion…and the four friends as well. "Go on. Tell the Avatar where you've taken his son!"

An unspoken look that was a mixture of seething hatred and furtive exchange passed between the firebender and earthbender before Hong roared, "That's a lie! It wasn't me and you know it!" He threw a desperate glance over at his fellow prisoners. "Well say something!" he demanded sharply, "You know it wasn't my idea!" When they inevitably averted their faces and left him hanging, he turned an entreating look towards Aang. "He's setting me up! I had nothing to do with taking those kids!" He nodded meaningfully towards the firebender. "It's was all Iwao's idea! He thought we could get more money if we had the kids _and_ the bison! I only wanted the bison. I thought we should leave the kids where they were."

Sokka narrowed his eyes, recalling that he'd heard the name before. "Iwao. Iwao," he muttered to himself, "Why does that sound so familiar to me?"

Near enough to overhear him, Katara said, "Because we've heard it before, Sokka. The mayor of that town mentioned it to us, remember? He told us that Iwao was the leader and not Hong."

"That's right," Aang said slowly, turning a hardened look full of suspicion towards the aforementioned, "His nephew was adamant about it too, wasn't he? And Oogi did suffer those burns after all…"

"Severe burns," Katara agreed, directing the firebender with a penetrating stare of her own, "It took him days to recover. I wonder what kind of soulless human being would do that to a helpless animal."

The firebender didn't flinch under their glares of condemnation. In fact, he straightened with a haughty sniff as if offended by Katara's implication. "I told you that it wasn't me," he tossed out carelessly, "I don't care what you heard. I'm not the leader. Hong masterminded the whole thing! It was his idea to steal the bison and to take the kids. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was like a madman!"

"You filthy double-crossing liar! That wasn't me! It was _you_!" Hong growled, "You're crazy if you think I'm going to take the rap for this!"

"Enough!" Aang shouted. "I don't care whose idea it was or wasn't! Where are our children? Tell us now!"

Yet another unspoken look passed between the partners before Iwao answered with an unconcerned shrug. "We don't have your children," he said, "They escaped. We don't know where they are now. If they haven't come back home to you yet…well, that's not _our_ fault."

The superior satisfaction in the firebender's tone was too much for Aang. With a feral growl, he started to launch himself at the man when, without warning, a large shadow fell across him from overhead. Aang tipped back his head to discover Appa and Oogi descending out of the sky. A few seconds later the ground trembled with the strength and power of their landing.

"Hey, I thought I told you to stay behind," Aang admonished Appa softly even as he stepped forward to nuzzle his loyal companion. "I guess you were worried about us, weren't you, buddy?"

After Appa answered that with a low bellow and Aang gave him another loving nuzzle in response he turned to dispense the same greeting to Oogi and froze mid-step. The young bison was clearly uninterested in Aang at the moment. He had already caught sight of the prisoners on the ground between Katara and Toph and they had his undivided attention. Oogi snarled rather menacingly at the bound men.

Aang tried to get him to settle down with a gentle touch and few soothing words but Oogi clearly wanted a piece of them all, most particularly the firebender. His volatile reaction confirmed Aang's suspicions that Iwao had been Oogi's abuser. Thick puffs of vapor exploded from the bison's flared nostrils as he snorted and growled and made every effort he could to get around Aang and charge the men.

Shaking with terror, the prisoners scooted closer to Katara and Toph almost as if they were trying to hide themselves behind the women. Sokka surveyed their reactions with speculative eyes, the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile that was part disgusted, part amused. "Seems he doesn't like any of you very much," he remarked to them drolly. Oogi made another lunge, causing the firebender in particular to flinch reflexively. "Especially _you_. Hmm…I wonder why that is."

"Keep that rabid animal away from us!" Iwao cried, cringing anew when Oogi bared his teeth threateningly, "We can't defend ourselves with our hands tied!"

"Oh, you poor, poor things," Katara quipped rather unsympathetically. She nudged Iwao's shoulder with her knee. When he threw her a seething look, she smiled. "I'm thinking he definitely wants to take a chunk out of you." Oogi stomped and snarled harder so much so that Aang had to struggle to hold the animal in place. "Maybe we should oblige him, Aang."

A slow smile stretched across Toph's face. "Katara has a point. Oogi seems pretty wound up. That's not so good for his recovery, is it? We don't want to stress him. Maybe you should let him go."

Aang appeared to ponder the argument. "You think I should?"

Sokka, catching on to their intentions and deciding to play along, added with a sly grimace, "Hmm…I don't know. I bet Oogi would tear this guy to bits if you let him go. It would probably be pretty gruesome." He stroked his chin thoughtfully at the prospect and then shrugged. "I'd like to see that."

Toph stomped her foot in protest. "Hey, no fair! Why do you sighted people get all the fun?"

"Wait!" Iwao cried when Aang looked as if he just might let the bison charge him, "Don't do it! Don't let him come after me!"

With that frantic plea, Sokka stooped down beside Iwao so that he and the firebender were eye level when he said, "You've got about ten seconds to start talking before we turn you into a bison chew toy. Your choice."

Iwao gulped audibly. "What do you want to know?"

"That's an easy one," Sokka replied softly, "Where are our kids? Take us to them now."

It hadn't taken much more persuasion than that. To everyone's exasperated surprise, they ended up going back the exact way they had come. Instead of the thieves taking them to some hidden location near their campsite as they'd first supposed would happen, the gang learned that Hong and Iwao had been telling the truth when they claimed Tenzin and Lin had escaped. Afterwards, according to their story, their gang of thieves had picked up and moved on from their old location for fear that the Avatar would soon come hunting for them. In a sense, that fear had become a self-fulfilling prophecy because in their haste to disappear they had left a plethora of clues behind them, which had led the Avatar and his comrades directly to their new hideout.

Thankfully, the return trip didn't take nearly so long as the journey going forward had taken. Travel progressed a lot faster now that the group wasn't forced to stay on the ground in order to follow tracks. Oogi and Appa managed to cut their time by a third and the distance that had taken nearly five full days to travel before was made in as little as a day and a half with their help.

That first evening the gang camped out for the night, deciding to conclude the journey early the next morning. After their prisoners had fallen asleep, the four huddled together around the fire and hammered out a guard detail for their prisoners while also discussing what they would do with them once they had gotten the information they wanted. But what weighed most heavily on their minds was whether or not their captives were telling them the truth about Lin and Tenzin…or if they were leading them down a dead end because they wanted to buy themselves more time.

"Well, they are definitely hiding something," Toph remarked in a low tone, "I think they're telling the truth about the kids escaping, but it's not the whole story."

"You're right. Their account of events is full of holes," Katara muttered, "If Tenzin and Lin got away, shouldn't we have heard something by now? And why would they just run after they escaped instead of going after them, especially when they went to such lengths to hold the kids in the first place?"

Sokka shrugged. "We've been moving around for almost a week. That could be the reason we haven't heard anything yet. Messenger hawks are fast, but not always reliable."

Aang blindly contemplated the fire, not wanting to voice aloud the thought that had been pounding in his brain for hours but unable to keep silent any longer either. "You don't think they could have harmed Lin and Tenzin in some way, do you? I don't like the vibe I'm getting from them."

Toph expelled a heavy sigh. "I don't know. They _are_ jumpy though and I don't like it."

"I think they're scared Aang is going to kill them," Sokka grunted.

Aang scoffed mirthlessly at the notion. "I'm not interested in hurting them. In fact, that's the last thing I care about. All I want is to find our kids so we can go back home and this whole thing can be over."

Katara reached between them to lace her fingers with his. He turned a grateful glance towards her before leaning into her body and resting his forehead against hers. Katara pressed a tender kiss to the tip of his nose. "We're going to find them, Aang," she whispered, "You've believed that all along, so don't give up hope now."

Sokka grunted at the intimate exchange. Although it made little sense, watching Aang and Katara kiss still made him as squeamish as it had when he was fifteen years old. "Um…guys? You probably don't care but…I'm feeling very oogified right now."

His sister shot him an exasperated glare. "Oh, get over yourself, Sokka! We could all use a little comfort at this point!"

"I know," Aang mumbled sadly, "But I'd rather have our kids."

Toph tossed a clump of earth into the fire, finding the sizzling crackle and hiss oddly comforting. "Well, one thing we know for sure…tomorrow we'll finally have our answers," she determinedly stonily, "One way or another."

The following morning the gang rose early and resumed their journey towards the forest. Two hours later, they arrived back at the abandoned hideout. Brusque and businesslike, Toph ushered the bound prisoners from atop Appa with the aid of her earthbending and lowered them to the ground. Moments later, she was joined by Sokka, Aang and Katara. After securing the nonbenders with Appa and Oogi, the gang led Hong and Iwao over to the edge of the camp where the pummeled remains of Tenzin's iron cage lay.

"Well?" Toph demanded tersely, "You said they escaped. That much we could figure out for ourselves. What happened after that?" Furtive glances were once again traded between Iwao and Hong, a fact that did not escape Sokka, Aang or Katara's attention.

"Like we said before," Hong began, "They escaped. We didn't know the girl was a metalbender. By the time we figured it out, they were already gone. We cut our losses and moved on."

Katara listened with crossed arms and a tense expression, clearly skeptical. "So you're telling me that you went through the trouble of kidnapping them and then, when you discovered they were missing, you didn't even bother looking for them at all?" she demanded, "Why don't I buy that?"

"It's the truth." Hong fidgeted, his shifty behavior belying the veracity of his claim.

It was little wonder that Aang responded with a flat, "I don't believe you."

"I don't either," Toph added, "It's not too late for us to throw you to Oogi."

"We've already told you everything there is to tell," Iwao maintained stubbornly.

While Aang and Katara continued to interrogate their prisoners and ferret out their lies, Toph became intensely aware of Sokka poking around near the edge of the forest. While he conducted his one man investigation, she couldn't help but detect the subtle acceleration in their prisoners' heart rates each time Sokka ventured a little deeper into the copse of trees, almost as if his being in there made them nervous. Her instincts prickling, Toph suggested that they comb the woods in search of clues in hopes of testing her theory. Almost the instant she made the suggestion she could feel the vibrations of their hearts thundering against their ribcages.

"You're keeping something from us," she charged them. "What's in the forest that you don't want us to find?"

Honestly, Toph couldn't fathom what they were hiding. She had investigated the area herself when they were there before and she hadn't detected anything out of the ordinary. However, she couldn't ignore the frenetic reactions both men were having to both her questions and Sokka's exploration so she knew that they were hiding something. She wondered if there could be anything she had missed before. However, when the men remained obstinately silent in response to her demand, Toph knew that she, Aang, Sokka and Katara would have to discover the truth on their own.

"Come on," she said, waving for Aang and Katara to follow behind her, "Let's follow Sokka."

She hooked hold of the firebender while Aang and Katara flanked the earthbender and the three trailed Sokka, who had evidently picked up on some obscure clue, deeper into the forest. After two hundred feet or so, Toph finally received a clearer picture of the surrounding area. She began to have her first inkling of what was causing the prisoners' escalating anxiety.

Moments later, Sokka called back to them, "Hey guys, there's a trail here that leads straight through to the other side of the forest."

When Aang, Katara and Toph stepped into the clearing behind him, only Aang and Katara were surprised to find a steep drop off on the other side. Toph had known the revelation was coming for some time. Sokka turned to regard the group with a grim expression. "They lied to us. They definitely pursued the kids through the forest. From what I can tell, it looks like Tenzin and Lin may have been chased to the edge here because there's nowhere else to go!"

Aang's reaction to his theory was visceral and instantaneous. His eyes and tattoos flared to life with the wrathful glow of the avatar spirit. He yanked Hong around by the lapels of his shirt and held him aloft with an infuriated growl. "What did you do? Did force those kids off this cliff?"

"No! Wait!" he cried, "It's not what you think! They survived the jump! I swear they survived it! We lost them after that!" Though the unearthly illumination faded from Aang's body at the fervent claim, the Avatar continued to hold Hong suspended as if still debating whether he wanted to break the earthbender in half.

"So you _did_ force them off the cliff?" Katara rasped with gathering fury, "Two frightened children trying to get away from you and you forced them to jump!"

Toph didn't wait for confirmation or denial of that at all. Taking command of the metal loops binding the wrists and ankles of both men, she yanked them both erect and held them aloft before floating them over to the edge of the cliff and then beyond it. Her intentions were clear, especially when she had left them dangling mid-air, with nothing but open space between them and the raging river below.

"Listen to him! He's telling the truth!" Iwao shouted frantically, "The kid was an airbender! There's no way he didn't survive that jump! We can take you to the spot where they made camp! They're alive!"

"It's too bad I don't believe you right now," Toph growled through clenched teeth. She recognized that they were telling the truth, didn't doubt for one second that Tenzin and Lin could have survived that jump. However, that didn't mean she couldn't play around with them for a bit.

Katara was of like mind. She came to stand beside Toph, her expression grim. "I can't say I believe you either. You've been lying to us this whole time and maybe you'd say anything to save your skins right now…even play on a mother's heartbreak over her child."

"Your children aren't dead," Hong blubbered, "I promise you. Please don't kill us…"

"What have we got to lose, Toph?" Katara asked with a shrug.

"Nothing at all now, thanks to them," Toph answered, "Maybe we should throw them over the side and see if _they_ survive."

Iwao pinned Aang with a frantic look. "We told you the truth! You can't let them do this to us! You're the Avatar! Your job is to protect people! _We_ need your protection!"

Before Aang could respond to that charge Sokka, having picked up on Toph's unspoken cues, said, "Hey, Aang? Do you hear that?" He cocked his ear towards the nonexistent sound. "I think Appa and Oogi might need our assistance back at the base camp."

He and Sokka exchanged an evocative glance before Aang began to play along with the ruse. "I think I hear it too, Sokka. We should check that out right away."

"Hey! Hey, wait! Where are you going? HEY!" Iwao and Hong called after them in tandem as Sokka and Aang disappeared back into the forest, "You can't leave us here alone with them! They're going to kill us! You know they're going to kill us! _WAIT!_" When both men realized that their pleas and protests had fallen on deaf ears, the last remaining bit of their bravado crumbled completely. Iwao was the first to break down in full confession.

"Okay, okay…it was _my_ idea to take your kids," he babbled in consternation, aware that the river far below them was quickly becoming a churning vortex under Katara's control. He spoke faster, tripping over his words as he explained, "M-Maybe I was upset because they made a fool out of me, b-but all I really wanted was the money. We were never going to hurt them! We were always going to give them back to you!"

Katara's mouth turned up in an embittered smile. "But for a price though, right?"

"We can take you to their camp down in the valley below," Hong bargained fretfully, "We know they survived the jump! We'll do whatever you ask just don't let us go! We'll never survive the fall with our hands bound! Please…"

"Hmm…" Toph replied in a ponderous tone, "…that's a really generous offer, but I think I'm going to have to drop you anyway."

And with that, Toph opened up her hand…and let them go. As they plummeted rapidly towards the swirling waters below, their terrified cries shattered the quiet morning. An instant before they could be swallowed beneath the choppy waves, however, Katara bent up a watery cradle to cushion their descent. Then, upon catching them, she used the water as a sling to catapult them through the air so that they went sailing haphazardly through the sky before crashing back onto solid ground at her and Toph's feet. Impervious to their choked gasping, pained groans and uncontrollable tremors, both women knelt down beside the subdued men with thoroughly impassive expressions.

"Now then," Katara began rather conversationally, "about this campsite you found…"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

"I can't feel my butt."

Those five disgruntled words were the first ones Tenzin uttered to Lin when she removed the top from the wicker basket they had used to smuggle him onboard the passenger train bound for Omashu. She peered down at him with a deadpan expression. "And whose fault is it that you can't feel your butt?" she chided, "This was _your_ brilliant idea, remember?"

He responded to that with a humorless grunt and extended his arms to her. "Tell me 'I told you so' later. Right now help me out of here, will you?"

Lin cast a quick, furtive glance out into the narrow corridor beyond her door for milling attendants. When she found hallway empty, Lin closed the door again and leaned forward to assist Tenzin in climbing from the narrow basket. "Good grief, Tenzin!" she grunted, tugging harder when he seemed to be stuck, "How can someone who lives on berries and bean curd be so heavy?"

"Pull harder, Lin! My legs are starting to cramp up!"

As they struggled to free him from his narrow hiding place Tenzin could admit to himself that it hadn't been the most brilliant plan on the face of the planet, but at the time they hadn't been left with very many options. At first, booking passage to the great city of Omashu had seemed like a relatively simple endeavor. They found a railway train preparing to depart Ba Sing Se for that exact destination less than an hour after leaving Ling's home. It was one of the few railway stations in the entire world and provided direct passage from Ba Sing Se to Omashu. The project to connect the two great cities had taken more than a decade to complete but, even though still in its infancy, the train was quickly becoming the world's preferred means of transportation.

For Lin and Tenzin in particular, the train was an unexpected boon. They were beyond thrilled by the prospect of riding to Omashu in comfort and relative luxury rather than trekking across the hot desert plain on foot to reach their destination. It was the one time during the entirety of their trip that the young people had been looking forward to something other than accomplishing their primary goals. Unfortunately, there proved to be one unanticipated snag in their plan. They didn't have quite enough money left over to purchase two tickets.

Upon discovering that fact Lin and Tenzin hadn't had very much time to formulate a new plan because the train had been due to leave within minutes. Tenzin had thrown a frantic glance around at the surrounding marketplace and a large, oval shaped woven basket had caught his immediate attention. In a rare show of impetuosity he urged Lin to buy the basket and then, after finding a small concealed niche of the market square, he had climbed inside. Thus, he was smuggled on board as Lin's luggage while Lin legally paid for her fare.

That arrangement had been in place for three, long days now. For hours on end Tenzin would remain stuffed in the basket and tucked in a corner of Lin's very cramped stateroom while she carried on her daily life, mingled with the other passengers and generally enjoyed her freedom. Late at night after nearly everyone except the crew had fallen asleep, Lin would help Tenzin emerge so that he could eat and take care of his personal needs. For Tenzin, the situation was getting old very fast. He was tired. He was cranky. He was stiff and achy. And mostly…he was homesick.

Finally after much tugging, Tenzin popped free but not without a small bit of commotion as he and Lin went careening in opposite directions. Knowing they had probably alerted the milling crew in the corridor, Tenzin scrambled to get out of sight while Lin rushed to the door to make polite excuses to the two attendants who came running to investigate. "Silly me," she said, batting her lashes innocently, "I must have been having a nightmare because I fell right out of bed. I'm so embarrassed."

Although the men looked a bit skeptical at her story, both were so significantly charmed by her smile that they nodded their acceptance and departed with the warning that she be "more careful in the future." When they were gone, Lin wilted with relief, closed the door and then pressed herself back up against it with a weary sigh. "That was a close one," she told Tenzin, "We almost got caught that time."

"What took you so long tonight?" Tenzin griped, already attacking the tray of fruit that Lin had left out for him. He shoveled in several handfuls, barely taking a breath between bites. "I'm starving!"

"Sorry about that. The train conductor requested my presence at dinner tonight because he thought I looked familiar to him," Lin replied softly. Tenzin froze mid-chew. "Relax. It wasn't about my mom. It seems he knows my grandparents…the _Beifongs_, I mean. His family is very old friends with them."

Tenzin swallowed down the mouthful and wiped his hands against the legs of his trousers before turning to regard Lin with solemn eyes. "Did you tell him that he was right about you?"

Her eyes flashed with enigmatic emotion before she shook her head. "I didn't see the point in blowing our cover to confess a familial connection to two people I don't even know."

"How do you feel about that?"

Lin lifted her shoulders in a noncommittal shrug. "So he knows the Beifongs. Big deal. It's not like it means anything to me. Like I said before…I don't know them. They're strangers."

"But do you _want_ to know them? I…I mean, have you ever wanted to know them?"

"I don't know…" Lin mumbled, flopping down onto her narrow cot. Tenzin sat down beside her. "Sometimes I _do_ wonder about them. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But my mom told me that her parents never understood her or accepted her and well…if they didn't accept her then I doubt they'd accept me either because she and I are exactly alike. Then again," she added somewhat bitterly, "my mom says a lot of things. So who knows what's true and what isn't?"

"Lin, your mother has never lied to you," Tenzin pointed out matter-of-factly. Lin snorted. Undeterred by her dubious response, Tenzin pressed on. "No, it's true and you know it," he insisted, "Maybe she didn't tell you about your dad, but she never lied to you about him. She didn't let you believe he was dead or anything horrible like that. She said that he wasn't in your life and he never would be. That was the truth. That was _her_ truth. You have to respect that."

Tenzin's wise advice was met with Lin's feral scowl. "What are you talking about? She lied to me!"

"It was between her and Qi Xing."

"Are you kidding me? I can't believe you're taking her side, Tenzin!" she hissed sharply, "I bet you'd feel differently if you found out your parents were lying and keeping a major secret from you!"

"I'm not naïve. I know there are things my parents don't tell me…things I know about them that they don't even know that I know, but I've never confronted them about it because it's _their_ business, Lin. If they want me to know then they'll tell me themselves."

"Well, my father is _my_ business…and she didn't have a right to cut him out of my life!" She crossed her arms with an obstinate glare. "Nothing you say will make me change my mind about it!"

"Lin, I've been thinking about this a long time…there's really not much else to do when you're stuffed in a basket all day…but the point is, Ling told us that your dad left Ba Sing Se in a hurry. Why would he do that unless someone was chasing him or he was in trouble? Maybe he's involved in some shady things. Maybe he ran away because he did something really awful."

Although it was something she had already considered herself and she was deeply troubled by the prospect, Lin raised her chin to a haughty angle in hopes of deflecting Tenzin's very real concerns. "And so what if he did a mistake or do something awful? No one is perfect. Not everyone can be like Aang, Tenzin!"

"What's that supposed mean?"

"It means that you have such an ideal relationship with your father and he's so perfect in your eyes that you think anyone who doesn't have the same thing you do has less somehow! You can be really judgmental sometimes!"

Tenzin snorted with indignation at the accusation. "What? I am _not_ judgmental! And furthermore, I don't think my dad is perfect at all! You couldn't be more wrong, Lin!"

"Really?" Lin challenged, "And how's that?"

"The man drives me crazy!" he cried, "We couldn't be _more_ different! We've disagreed more times than you could possibly count. Our relationship is hardly easy! He thinks I'm too serious and I don't think he's serious enough. I'm structured and levelheaded he's…well, he's _not_!"

"Yeah…you're not judgmental at all," Lin wisecracked dryly, "Wherever would I get an idea like that?"

"I'm making a point here," Tenzin intoned in haughty response, "I like nice, well ordered things and Dad likes to fly by the seat of his pants. The two things are diametrically opposed. Sometimes it's actually mindboggling to me that I sprung from his loins at all."

Lin shuddered at his phrasing. "First of all, never mention your dad's loins to me again…eww," she muttered, "Secondly, so what if you and Aang different! You're still close, Tenzin. No matter what you say, I know your relationship with your dad is solid. But not everybody has that and not every two people _have_ to have that to make a 'good' relationship!"

"You're right," he agreed, "Maybe everybody doesn't have to have that exactly, but two people have to both _want_ the relationship for there to be one. My dad and I work hard to be close to each other. It's not automatic. So do you and your mom! But what exactly has your father done, Lin! He hasn't put forth the same effort at all!"

"How could he? He didn't even know about me!" she cried, "My mom never told him, remember!"

"That's too simple!" Tenzin charged, "Your mom obviously had some kind of feelings for him, but what about him? They were together long enough to make you and that was enough to make her want to send that letter to him. But he didn't even come back to see her. He's _never_ come back. How do you think that made her feel? What does that say about him?"

Lin averted her face, her jaw set sight. "Why are you doing this to me right now? Are you trying to change my mind or something?"

The hurt and confusion in her questions made him feel a little guilty, especially because Tenzin knew that part of his frustration with her was due to his own guilt over how he'd ditched his parents for a second time. Then again, there was also a part of him that was speaking the unvarnished truth and he firmly believed that Lin needed to hear it. "Listen to me. You're not a little kid anymore, Lin," he sighed, "You're going to be 12 years old in a few days. You have to start thinking about how what you do affects other people!"

She pinned him with an irate glare. "So what are you saying? You think I'm selfish?"

He started to back-peddle in fear of hurting her feelings, but then decided against it when he realized that she wouldn't hold back if she were in his place. "Yeah, maybe I do think you're selfish, Lin!" he retorted, "This whole time all you've done is think about is you, you, you! What _you_ need! What _you_ feel! What _you_ want! You haven't taken two seconds to think about how your decisions affect your mom or me or my parents for that matter!"

"Where is this coming from?"

"They're _chasing_ us! They're worried! We shouldn't be doing this to them! Don't you care?"

"Don't act like I twisted your arm, Tenzin! I didn't ask you to come along with me! You volunteered!"

"I know," Tenzin mumbled, abruptly deflating with the tart reminder, "I know I did."

"Then why are you biting my head off right now?" she snapped.

"Because I…I feel guilty, okay! My parents were there…they were right there in Ba Sing Se and I ran out on them again. I knew they were worried sick about me and I took off anyway." He blinked back the tears gathering in his eyes. "I know that I'm hurting them and I feel bad about it."

The tension drained from Lin's features and she reached over to pat his shoulder consolingly. "It means a lot to me that you came, Tenzin. I know this is hard for you."

"I guess I miss them. I miss them a lot."

"You're going to see them again soon. They know where we're going," Lin reasoned with a sigh, "Ling probably ran to tell them our plan the moment we left her house. They'll be in Omashu waiting for us when we arrive. I'd lay down money on the odds."

"So, if you're expecting your mom, what are you going to do?"

"What I have to do." He winced in reaction to that and Lin sighed. "Listen, Tenzin…I get it if you're ready to end this journey, but I can't just yet. I still want to try and find my father on my own terms and that will never happen with my mom breathing down my neck. I know she probably doesn't think much of him, but I need to form my own opinion, Tenzin. If that makes me selfish, then I'm selfish…but I _have_ to do this."

"No. I get what you're saying," Tenzin grunted after an extended pause of silence, "It's not all you, Lin. It was my guilt talking before and maybe the basket too. I hate being cooped up in there."

She offered him a small smile of forgiveness. "Yeah, that's what I figured it was."

"_But_ just to clarify a few things," he added meaningfully, "You were right about what you said before. You _are_ selfish, Lin. But I forgive you for it."

"That's okay, Tenzin. You're a know-it-all, critical goody two shoes and I forgive you for it," she retorted in a careless tone, "I guess we both have our issues to work on, don't we?" While he was still sputtering around for a response to that, Lin reached over to slap his knee. "Hey, why don't you finish eating and get washed up and then we'll go to bed?" she suggested, patting the cot beneath them for emphasis, "You're tired and cranky and, frankly, so am I. It's been a long day."

"What? You mean share this pathetic excuse for a bed?" Tenzin protested, "That's crazy! We'll never fit!"

"It's the cot or the basket, Tenzin. Your choice."

Tenzin slid a distasteful glance over at the aforementioned before appraising Lin with a disgruntled pout. "Fine. The cot it is."

* * *

"Tenzin!"

Aang's eyes flashed open at the very instant he gasped his son's name, but he wasn't apprehensive upon waking. On the contrary, his dream had been a comforting one. He was more disappointed that it had slipped away from him so abruptly than he was upset to have had it. Somehow the dream had helped to allay many of the anxieties he had surrounding his son's disappearance…almost as if it hadn't been a dream at all, but a vision instead.

In gradual intervals Aang came more fully awake though, at first, he was a bit disoriented as to where he was. However, once he had shaken off the lingering grogginess, he slowly became aware of the fact that he wasn't in a bed at all, but sprawled atop of Appa's head as the bison floated through the night sky. Furthermore, Katara was there perched beside him, expertly guiding Appa through the foggy canopy of clouds and regarding him with an affectionate smile. Aang blinked up at her in drowsy confusion.

"This seems familiar."

Katara chuckled. "You must have been tired," she remarked softly. "I woke up and found you slumped over with Appa's reins still in your hands."

"You did?"

She nodded. "I didn't want to wake you so I climbed over the saddle and took over."

"I don't remember any of that." He scowled at her. "Katara, you know I hate it when you move around while we're mid-air. What if you'd fallen?"

"But I didn't fall and it's over now so it's too late for you to scold me."

Aang grunted. "I can't believe I slept through all of that."

"I'm not surprised you did," she replied, her smile widening considerably, "The last few days have been exhausting. You were out cold."

"Sorry." Aang contorted his lean frame in a languorous stretch and yawned broadly. "I didn't mean for you to have to take over. I guess I was sleepier than I thought."

"Don't apologize. You gave me a break so the least I could do was give you one in return."

He fixed her with an adoring smile. "Thank you, Katara. You're a good wife. I love you."

She leaned over to drop a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you too." Contented with her kiss and refreshed from his dream, Aang closed his eyes again and started to fall back to sleep when Katara whispered his name. His lashes fluttered up and he regarded her with sleepy gray eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Uh-hmm…why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I thought you might have been having a nightmare before."

Aang frowned at her, clearly befuddled by the question because he had dreamed nothing but good things. "You thought I was having a nightmare?"

"You were mumbling Tenzin's name in your sleep. Were you dreaming about him?"

Katara wouldn't be incredibly surprised if he had been. Tenzin had dominated their thoughts and actions for the better part of two weeks and with very good reason. With every update they received on their errant son it seemed that his situation only grew more and more dire. In that two week span they had done little more than steal random hours of rest, catch a few bites of food here and there and hunt relentlessly for their youngest child. And the hunt, unfortunately for them, continued. However, instead of having worry and fear to drive their actions, now frustration, anger and confusion were Aang and Katara's primary motivators.

Their prisoners had been telling the truth after all. Tenzin and Lin _had_ survived the jump from the cliff. Down in the dense forest below they had found evidence of the remnants of a makeshift camp comprised of a few herbal leaves, some scattered berries and the remnants of a gutted fire. But, as had been their experience in every other instance, there was no sign of Tenzin and Lin. It was as if they had vanished into thin air. To add to their mounting concern, the group also discovered that Lin had been severely injured. Consequently, the idea of her and Tenzin traveling a significant distance on foot didn't seem very feasible. They theorized that someone must have come along to offer them aid, but where their children went after that was anyone's guess.

Eventually, however, their search for answers and need to transfer their prisoners into official custody had led them to a nearby town. It was while they were making the hand off with law officials there that a local man overheard their story and realized that the children he had found in the woods a week earlier were the very children for whom the Avatar and his companions were looking. From that point, Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka had been directed to a kindhearted waterbender, who admitted not only to caring for Lin (who had nearly died according to her), but also giving the children money so that they could continue their journey to Ba Sing Se.

While undeniably relieved by the news that their children were relatively safe and sound, the question of why they continued to run after all they had already suffered remained. By now surely Tenzin and Lin would have wanted to come home, the gang reasoned. However, it was clear from the fantastical story they had told their host that neither of them had wanted to be found…not until they accomplished what they had set out to do at least. Despite losing Oogi, being kidnapped and almost _dying_, Tenzin and Lin seemed as determined as ever to continue with their journey, even more so in fact. It was a realization that both irritated and frustrated their parents greatly.

In light of that discovery, the gang hadn't even taken a few moments to rest after flying nearly the entire night to reach the little town before they were once again mounting their tired sky bison and turning around with a course set for Ba Sing Se. They had now been in the air for more than 36 hours almost continuously and not only were Appa and Oogi exhausted from the strenuous schedule but so was the group. As eager as they were to get to Ba Sing Se, everyone knew that they would have to rest soon. Their bodies were demanding it.

Just up ahead of them, Katara could see Oogi beginning to lag in the sky and she knew the bison probably wasn't going to last much longer. "I think Oogi has reached his limit," she remarked to Aang, "I know we agreed to fly through the night but I don't think we're going to make it. We're probably going to need to land soon."

"Yeah, probably. How long until we reach Ba Sing Se anyway?"

"I'd say if we camp out for the night and get some decent rest, we should be there in another day and a half." She surveyed Aang with a speculative sideways glance as he pushed himself completely upright and began rubbing sleep from his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Well?" she pressed when he continued to yawn and stretch several seconds later, "You didn't answer my question earlier. Were you dreaming about Tenzin before? Are you going to tell me about it?"

It was impossible not to detect the worry lurking behind her wide, blue eyes. "Don't get worked up. It wasn't anything bad, Katara."

"But you _were_ dreaming about him?"

"Yes."

"Tell me," she urged softly.

"It was a little strange," Aang confessed, "I was in this small room and Lin and Tenzin were there and somehow I knew instinctively that they were safe and secure. There were these vibrations and I could feel them under my feet…like we were on the move or something."

"On the move?" Katara echoed with a deep frown, "Do you mean like they were traveling or something?"

"I don't know. It didn't make much sense to me," Aang confessed, "What I _do_ know is that the kids were sleeping on this really narrow bed…curled up just the way they used to do when they were really little. They seemed so small and vulnerable, but…I knew it was okay. I knew _they_ were okay. So, I just stood there watching them sleep and then I woke up."

"That's it? You dreamed the kids were sleeping and then you woke up?"

"Well, that's not completely it," he admitted somewhat wryly, "I don't think it was actually a dream at all, Katara. I think what I saw was real."

Katara felt a chill shiver through her body at his whispered confession. No matter how many times she experienced or even witnessed the spiritual anomalies that punctuated Aang's existence, Katara never failed to feel awed and even a little frightened by the occurrences. "You mean like a vision? You had a vision?"

"I don't know how to describe it," Aang said, "It wasn't symbolic or anything. It felt…real. The room was real. The vibrations were real. The low, rumbling sounds I heard were real. It was like I was connected to them and I could feel what they were feeling. I could sense their dreams. I know it sounds crazy."

"This is you, Aang. When isn't it crazy?" They slanted wry smiles at one another before Katara asked softly, "So…if you could sense their dreams…what did you see?"

He met her eyes in a profound stare. "They were dreaming about home. They miss home, Katara. They miss _us_. But they feel like there's something they need to do and they can't come home until they do it."

"Then why won't they let us help them instead of constantly running from us?" Katara muttered in a flash of angry frustration, "Haven't they had enough trouble? We've been worrying ourselves sick about them this whole time, Aang! Do they even know how much upheaval they've caused?"

Aang shrugged. "They know, but they're determined to see this thing through. I don't know what more to tell you, sweetie."

Katara huffed to herself. "This is ridiculous," she muttered. And then she heaved a large, aggravated sigh. "I'm not happy with the situation but at least we know this foolishness will end once we reach Ba Sing Se. I swear when I get my hands on Tenzin I'm going to throttle that boy within an inch of his life!"

That grim promise left Aang cringing inwardly on his son's behalf. "I guess it's too much to ask for you to go easy on him, huh?"

"Easy on him?" Katara gaped at him in disbelief. "Oh, no you don't! Don't you dare go soft on me now, Airbender! We talked about this and we agreed that Tenzin should be punished."

"But he already feels bad, Katara," Aang argued, "I don't want to make him feel worse. Can't we give him a second chance?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm supposed to be swayed by the fact he '_feels bad_'?" she scoffed, "Aang, they were kidnapped. They lost Oogi. Lin nearly _died_ and then they lied to that poor woman who tried to help them and told her that _we_ were dead. And that's not to mention the strain we've been under trying to track them this whole time! Tenzin ran out of second chances with me days ago…and third and fourth chances too! I'm over it."

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point there."

Although he said the right words his marked lack of conviction was readily apparent to Katara. She executed a darting pinch to his side, not the least bit apologetic when he yelped in surprise. "Aang, _do not_ flake out on me. We have to present a united front with Tenzin or else he'll divide and conquer."

Still pouting over her sneak attack, Aang rubbed at his tender flank. "Divide and conquer? You make it sound like this is warfare."

"It is," Katara insisted dramatically, "It's us against them. Haven't you figured that out by now? They'll take us down if we let them."

Aang chuckled at her dire warning and nudged her with his shoulder. "You're way too sleep-deprived."

She favored him with a small, sideways smile. "Well yeah…maybe a little bit," she giggled.

He nuzzled a kiss across her mouth. "It feels good to hear you laugh again."

"It feels good to laugh," Katara agreed softly. She scooted even closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm really glad to know that they're okay though. The unknown was the hardest part of this whole thing. I've made myself crazy worrying about it so I'm feeling a lot of relief to know there's an end in sight." She tipped a quizzical frown up at him. "You know…it would have been nice if you'd had this reassuring spiritual vision a week ago, Aang. It would have saved me a ton of grief."

"I wish it worked on command, Katara. Believe me."

"Well, I can't wait to tell Toph. She needs some good news. She puts up a pretty good front but I can tell she's starting to fray a bit at the edges."

"This situation has been tough for her," Aang agreed, "She blames herself for Lin running away…and she's not completely wrong about that. Not that it's Toph's fault at all," he rushed to explain, "I don't believe that. But Lin is incredibly angry with her. She's confused and hurt and she feels betrayed."

"You mean because Toph didn't tell her the truth about her father?"

Aang nodded. "She blames Toph because he wasn't in her life. It's like she's convinced herself that the only reason he wasn't around was because Toph didn't want him around and if she finds him then everything will change."

"Everything like what?"

"I don't know. Reading into other people's emotions isn't an exact science, Katara."

"I bet Lin thinks that if she finds her father then she'll finally have a 'real' family," Katara theorized.

"That's what I think too. But from everything that Sokka's told me about the guy, he's not worth her time and he's never going to give her what she wants. It's probably for the best that he left Ba Sing Se and disappeared. It can end there. Lin is better off not knowing him."

"It's a sad situation. Poor Lin," Katara sighed empathetically, "And poor Toph. I hate this for them both."

"Me too. They really need to sit down together and talk it all out."

"That's easier said than done, especially when it comes to those two. Heartfelt conversation isn't their strong suit."

"You're right…which is why I think you and I should be extremely grateful."

She surveyed him with a curious look. "And why's that?"

"As bad as things are with Tenzin right now, we could be dealing with something a lot worse than him skipping town for a few weeks. On the whole, I think we have a pretty good relationship with our boy and that's not something we should take for granted."

Katara lifted her head from his shoulder to peck his cheek. "You're right. We're very lucky and I am grateful. But you know what, Aang?" she continued in a sweet, soft tone that completely belied her next words to him, "When all of this over, I'm _still_ going to throttle him."

Aang sighed in longsuffering though the corners of his mouth pulled in a reluctant smile as he replied, "Of course you are, sweetie. That's exactly what I thought you'd say."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: Firstly, as always, thank you all for reading. I'm writing what I love so it feels good to share it with others who might love it too. Second, for those of you wondering how I can update so fast, well... It's because this fic is complete now. I'm taking my time posting it because: 1. it will definitely be the last multi-chapter story I attempt while I'm still in school (what was I thinking?) and 2. I'm trying to edit the parts to make sure they're free of inconsistencies/typos/misspellings/etc. (I'm probably failing at that, but I am trying, lol.) Third, for those of you wondering how old I am (and how indelicate, lol!), let's just say I'm old enough to have a kid who is legally an adult. Hope that covers it for everyone.**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Hey, Toph? Toph! Where are you? _Toph!_ Come on! We're going to be shipping out soon!"

After a few minutes of fruitless shouting, Aang finally found her on the outskirts of their campsite. Her back was to him and she was folded down on a bed of crisp, green grass in the lotus position. At first glance, it almost looked as if Toph were in deep meditation. Perhaps, Aang would have considered that possibility for Katara and Sokka…okay, Sokka not so much…but it might have been a consideration at least. _But Toph?_ Never! She didn't meditate. If she couldn't achieve inner peace without a punch and a growl then it wasn't worth her time.

So to find her here, in such a lonely place, quiet and still and outwardly reflective was disconcerting. However, just because Aang was certain she wasn't meditating that didn't mean he believed she was alright. Because she obviously wasn't. They were literally minutes away from leaving for Ba Sing Se and she had gone into hiding. She was ignoring him. Aang wasn't particularly offended by the latter realization however. Toph had ignored him before. It was her thing. Yet, the reasons she did so varied and he knew immediately that this time was different. The proof was there in her defeated posture.

Concerned, Aang approached her lightly and placed his hand on her shoulder. He was surprised when she stiffened because he thought she might have sensed him long before his approach. But it was clear within seconds that he had startled her. That recognition alone alarmed Aang because he had never known Toph to become so preoccupied that she allowed herself to be crept up on from behind. Her defenses had to be significantly weakened for that to happen.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Toph stiffened further, this time in response to the worry in his tone. "I'm fine, Aang," she told him, "I don't need you hovering over me."

"I'm not hovering. I'm concerned about you, Toph. Didn't you hear me calling you a minute ago?"

She shrugged off his hand then. "Yeah, I did. Half the Earth Kingdom heard you. The fact I didn't answer was _supposed_ to give you a clue that I didn't want to be bothered."

Rather than being affronted by her surly tone, Aang smiled over it instead and sat down beside her. "You know me, Toph," he said when she grunted impatiently over his intention to stay. "I've never been very good at picking up on subtle clues."

"Let me be less subtle then: go away."

He laughed at her grumpy retort. "As much as I'd like to oblige you, Toph, everyone's ready and waiting for you. Appa and Oogi are all loaded up and prepared to fly," Aang prompted her gently with a small nudge against her shoulder. "All that's left is you." She compressed her lips in a stubborn line of displeasure. "So what's going on?" he pressed, "Why are you sitting around?"

Toph smirked. "I always sit around. Isn't that Sugar Queen's major complaint about me?"

"This is different. We're supposed to be going after the kids, remember?"

"Yes, Aang, I remember," she snapped tersely, "I'm having a quiet moment, okay! I'm well aware of where we need to be today! I haven't gone senile, you know!"

"I know you're not senile, Toph," he replied mildly, "But you _are_ hiding right now and I'm wondering why you are. What's bothering you?"

"I could give you the standard response of 'nothing,' but somehow I know that won't make you go away," Toph surmised glumly, "Will it?"

"'Fraid not."

Yet another grunt rumbled from her throat, this time followed by a muttered curse. "You know, Twinkle Toes, sometimes you can be a real pain in my a—,"

"—Will you skip the insults for once and just tell me what's wrong?" Aang sighed in interruption, "Save your breath and my time. I want to help you, Toph. That's why I came out here. Tell me why you're hiding out when we're hours away from getting our kids back. It's almost over."

"Maybe for you and Katara," she muttered, "But for me, it's only beginning."

Aang frowned. "What does that mean? Are you scared or something? Is that why you're hiding?"

She grimaced at his blunt phrasing, especially because he was so very close to the truth. "Stop saying that! I'm not hiding! I _don't_ hide! And it's not my intention to hold anyone up. I needed some time to think."

"Think about what?"

"About Lin," she muttered gruffly after a tense beat of silence, "I'm thinking about Lin. I'm thinking about the questions she's bound to ask me once we're reunited. I'm thinking about the conversation with her that I don't want to have…the one I've spent her entire life avoiding." She dropped her head forward with a melancholy sigh. "I wish I could keep avoiding it."

"That hasn't served you very well so far, has it?" Aang reminded her gently.

"She ran away because of a misunderstanding," Toph reasoned, "Besides, this never would have happened if she hadn't been snooping through my things. She invaded my privacy! Technically, I don't owe her an explanation at all!"

"_Technically_ you're right. You don't owe her an explanation. But that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't give her one. It's a conversation you need to have, Toph."

Her jaw tightened. "Why do I _need_ to have it? I'm acting on her behalf. That should be enough."

"Because he's her father, that's why. It's obviously not enough for Lin."

Toph surged to her feet, her fists tight and her entire frame stiff and bristling. "No, he's not! He's not her father! He's just some guy I had sex with who happened to knock me up!"

A little stunned by her explosive reaction, Aang tipped back his head to regard her with speculative compassion. "But it was _more_ than that," he reminded her softly, "You were in love with him, weren't you, Toph?"

Her features became stony at the quiet assumption. "Aang, do you realize that I've never spoken to anyone about this! _Ever!_ Not even Sokka," Toph grated, "So what makes you think that I'm chomping at the bit to open a vein to you? That 'sharing feelings' crap is your and Katara's thing. Please leave me out of it!"

It was an old argument and by now Aang recognized that Toph only reverted to the scoffing accusation when she felt vulnerable and threatened. Consequently, she would deliberately needle him in the hopes that he would hop on the defensive and, thereby, become so distracted with arguing his point that the discussion would be circumvented altogether. This time, however, Aang wasn't going to fall for it.

After taking a moment to gather his thoughts because he was acutely aware that he'd have to tread lightly with Toph on the subject, Aang rolled to his feet. "It's not crap. Your feelings are going to be there whether you acknowledge them or not. You can ignore them and push them aside, Toph, but they never really go away. In fact, they only get bigger and messier and more out of control."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled.

"You don't think so?" he challenged, "Do you think you're the only person in the world to make one stupid decision and have the consequences of that one decision reverberate with you every day of your life?"

Because his description was so chillingly close to what she was feeling, Toph at last dropped her façade of bravado. Her tone was vulnerable and timid when she asked, "You know how that feels?"

"I ran away from the Southern Air Temple when I was a boy because I was so afraid of losing my home and my family and everything I knew," Aang recounted softly, "I was afraid of losing Gyatso, who meant more than anyone in the world to me…and, in the end, running away is _exactly_ what caused me to lose him.

"I think about the choice I made that night almost every day of my life. It's with me for every decision I make…or don't make. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened had I made a different decision," he confessed, "But then the worst part of it is…I don't know if I _would_ make a different decision if I was able to go back. If I had stayed at the temple that night maybe I would have died. I wouldn't have met Sokka, Katara and you. Katara and I wouldn't be married. We wouldn't have our kids. I wouldn't have this life that I have now…and that means everything to me, as much as Gyatso and my people ever meant to me. Even more in fact."

Toph nodded in commiseration and understanding. "My situation isn't quite as heavy as yours, but I get what you're saying. Sometimes I wish I could go back and do things differently with Qi Xing but then I realize that if I did I wouldn't have Lin and she's one of the best things I've ever done…maybe _the_ best thing. So then I don't know if I would have changed meeting Qi Xing. It's like I regret that I fell in love with him but I don't completely regret the results that came from falling in love. Does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense."

"I just wish I could erase him from her life," Toph whispered, "From _both_ of our lives. She'd be better off."

"Avoidance is too easy a fix, Toph. That's not you. You're the one who taught me that you have to face your obstacles head on."

She shrugged and emitted a small, self-deprecating grunt. "You're right about that. But honestly, Aang? I don't know if I can do this. I'm not exactly leaping for the chance to relive one of the most humiliating experiences of my life and I'm definitely not looking forward to telling my daughter that my stupidity saddled her with a man who isn't worth the dirt between her toes, much less deserving to be called her father!"

"None of that is your fault. Qi Xing turned his back on Lin. You didn't force him to stay away. It was _his_ choice. It's _his_ responsibility."

"No, it was _my_ choice because I'm the one who chose him…and that was a mistake," she argued, "And now Lin is going to be hurt because of it and what's worse…she's going to know how weak and foolish I was back then. She's going to lose respect for me."

"That won't happen." She made no effort to dispute that point with him but she didn't need to say a word. Her body language was crystal clear. She crossed her arms and turned her back, essentially shutting herself off from him. "Toph, give yourself a break! You weren't a fool and you weren't weak. You fell in love. That's no reason to be ashamed. Lin won't lose respect for you over that."

"Yeah," she murmured thickly, "I fell in love with him and he played a game. He lied to me and I fell for it. _Me!_ I can always tell when someone is running a game on me, Aang! It's my job for goodness' sake! And yet, I never knew he was deceiving me. I believed every promise that he made to me. I actually thought he… I thought we were going to get married, Aang! Isn't that pathetic?"

She laughed bitterly, answering the question before Aang could open his mouth to respond. "It was pathetic. _I_ was pathetic. For the first time in my entire life, I was truly blind in every sense of the word! I allowed myself be misled by Qi Xing's smooth charm and sweet words. I was naïve."

"It was the first time you had ever been in love," Aang reasoned.

"No, it wasn't," Toph denied softly, "I've been in love before, Aang, and…I chose not to say anything to him about how I felt. He fell in love with someone else. I don't regret that because he's happy now and his wife is very good for him. They have a beautiful life together. But I promised myself afterwards that if I ever felt like that again, I wouldn't let it pass me by. I'd grab on with both hands and hold on tight."

A profound silence descended between them. Finally, Aang asked in a careful, thoughtful tone, "Does Sokka know?"

Toph shook her head, not at all surprised that Aang had guessed her secret. Matters of the heart were his specialty. "He doesn't know. Neither does Suki. And I'd appreciate it you don't say anything about it, Aang…not even to Katara. Please?"

He nodded in solemn promise. "It's between us, Toph."

"I'm over it, in case you're wondering," she reassured him quickly, "Sokka is like a brother to me now and I couldn't want a better life partner for him than Suki. In a weird way, she's become one of my closest friends so I know that it worked out the way it was supposed to."

"And Qi Xing? How do you feel about him?"

Toph stiffened at the mention of him. "My feelings for him are…complicated. I don't love him anymore, but my emotions as far as he's concerned are still very intense. Then again, our entire relationship was intense. I think I got caught up in that…the bickering and the back and forth, the push and pull…the sex," she added after some pensive consideration, "I gotta admit that the sex was pretty freaking incredible. The things that man could do with his tongue—,"

"Okay! I get it!" Aang cried with a revolted grimace, "Sheesh. Thanks for sharing, Toph!"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted this little heart to heart! I'm just obliging you," she retorted emphatically, "Besides the point is, I got so caught up in this idea of having a family, a _real_ family with Qi Xing, that I closed my senses to what was actually happening. I hate myself for not sensing what he truly was and I hate him for making me vulnerable." She dropped her head forward to conceal the tears welling in her eyes. "I've taught Lin all of her life not to be so open and trusting with people and now I'm going to have to admit to her that I'm the biggest hypocrite in the world because I didn't practice what I preached. I have every reason to be ashamed, Aang."

"No, you don't. The shame is his. Not yours and not Lin's either."

"Whatever," she scoffed.

"Listen to me! You're not a hypocrite!" Aang pressed on urgently, despite her kneejerk inclination to reject everything he said to her, "You made a bad decision and you've given Lin the benefit of your experience so she won't make the same mistakes you did! That doesn't make you a hypocrite, Toph! That makes you a good parent!"

If her guard had been slipping even a little bit prior to that moment, Aang's forceful declaration that she was a "good parent" caused it to go right back up again. Toph snorted dubiously. "Oh, now you're reaching with that argument, Aang! I appreciate your efforts to make me feel better, but you don't have to lie to me."

He regarded her with a bewildered frown. "Lie to you?"

"I'm a crappy mother. No need to tiptoe around the subject. I know that about myself and I've always known that," she mumbled, "I don't want to be. I wish I was better at it. I wish I could do it as effortlessly as Katara does it, but I can't. It kills me to admit it, but…I'm a failure."

"You're not a failure! Where would you get such a ridiculous idea?" Aang burst out without thinking.

"It's not ridiculous at all! My kid ran away, remember? And even if she hadn't run away now, she would have done it eventually. Lin and I have never had the smoothest relationship. We butt heads with almost every interaction we have. It's like she lives to challenge me and it drives me nuts! If the kid doesn't shout that she hates me at least once a day I start to worry that maybe she's getting sick."

Aang chuckled. "Okay, now you sound like Katara."

"Oh, give me a break, Aang! Tenzin does not tell Katara he hates her," Toph challenged skeptically. "I don't believe that for a second."

"No, it's not Tenzin. He usually reserves his bursts of adolescent resentment exclusively for me," Aang sighed wryly, "_Kya_ was Katara's biggest challenge. It seemed like they could never agree and everything was a showdown between them. Sometimes when they got into it, I would run and hide. It was _that_ bad."

"Coward," Toph teased.

"And I'm not ashamed to admit it either," he replied irreverently, "So if your aim is to model Katara's style of parenting, Toph, I'd say you're doing a pretty good job."

"I doubt that. Katara and Kya might have had their rough spots in the past but their relationship is incredible and that's mostly because they both have those squishy, 'let me hold you to my bosom' motherly personalities. That's not Lin and me. We're a bit rougher around the edges and we don't do feelings. You probably don't realize this, Aang, but I'm not the most nurturing person on the planet."

"Oh no, I realized it. You're not nurturing in the least!" Aang agreed bluntly, "But Lin seems to thrive under your special brand of affection. And to be perfectly honest, I thrived under it too, so you must be doing something right."

"You say that and yet we've spent the last two weeks chasing Lin and Tenzin all over the Earth Kingdom because Lin would rather have a stranger as her parent than me."

"She ran away because she needed answers, Toph, and because _you_ taught her that if she wanted them, she would have to go out and find them herself. She didn't run away from home because you were an awful mother but because she's exactly the person you raised her to be."

"You mean mouthy, rebellious, head-strong and too impulsive for her own good?" Toph grunted.

"No, I mean self-sufficient, amazing, brave and fiercely independent…just like her mom," Aang finished with an affectionate smile, "I love that little girl very much…and I love you too, Toph. You're a good parent. Please don't ever doubt that."

"I don't feel like I am," she mumbled, "especially after all of this."

Aang closed the distance between them and looped his arm around her shoulder for a quick, reassuring hug. "Raising kids is a tough job," he acknowledged, "and largely thankless most of the time. You constantly have to strike a delicate balance between being compassionate, understanding and forgiving while also being stern, firm and establishing clear boundaries for them. Sometimes you're their best friend and sometimes they hate your guts. It's a difficult situation because you don't want to hurt them. All you want is to keep them safe, secure and happy and they end up resenting you for it.

"That's always been a sticking point for me personally," Aang confessed, "I hate being the bad guy. I crumble when they cry and pout because I don't like it when they're unhappy. So I tend to give in to them a lot and that's not a good thing because kids need limits. I still struggle to find the balance between being a disciplinarian and being compassionate and I know that if I didn't have Katara to help me then our children wouldn't have fared half as well as they have. I never could have raised them by myself.

"But you, on the other hand, _have_ raised an amazing child and you did that largely on your own, Toph," he went on quietly, "That is an incredible accomplishment. You should recognize what you've done and stop being so critical of yourself. There are truly bad parents in this world but you, my friend, are _not_ one of them."

Toph smirked at him, her rigid demeanor relaxing entirely. "I see now why Katara married you. Your heart is a little too soft for my taste, but I gotta admit that's one silver tongue you've got there, Twinkle Toes. Well played. You _almost_ have me believing every word you just said."

"What? Just almost?" Aang huffed with a frown as they began walking back towards the camp together, "I must be losing my touch then."

"Okay, maybe it was a little more than that," Toph relented with a low chuckle, "But you have to give me some time to wrap my mind around it all. However, I heard what you said…and I'm thinking about it." She nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Thanks for the pep-talk, Gramps."

Aang rolled his eyes in longsuffering consternation. "Really, Toph? _Gramps?_ Wasn't Twinkle Toes enough? Did you have to add _another_ nickname?"

"Well, that _is_ what you are, aren't you? A _grand_father," she stressed with a cheeky grin.

"Just barely! She's two years old!"

"Doesn't matter. She's still your _grand_daughter. Your two year old _grandchild_."

"Stop it!"

Toph laughed. "Okay, I'm in a magnanimous mood. How about I give you a choice then? It's either Gramps or Twinkle Toes. What's it going to be?"

Aang glared at her. "How about neither?" he suggested tartly, "I do have a name, you know! How about using it? It's been more than three decades now, Toph. I'm a grown man. I have a wife. I have children. I have—,"

"—a _grandchild_," Toph inserted with an irreverent smirk.

He growled in response. "The point is…I'm the Avatar for crying out loud! I've accomplished many great things in my life! I'm wiser. I've matured. Surely by now I have earned the right to move beyond these nicknames with you!"

She stopped short and cocked her head to one side, appearing to deeply ponder the crux of his argument. And then the moment was broken and she shook her head. "Nah. 'Fraid not."

* * *

The round of fierce pounding against the stateroom door jarred both Lin and Tenzin awake. One moment they were sprawled across each other awkwardly and snoring softly and the next they were rearing upright and knocking heads in the process. Their mutual yelps of pain were drowned out by another round of heavy thumping.

At first, they were confused and unsettled, still caught between drowsiness and wakefulness as they tried to orient themselves to time and place. But gradually they regained their senses as they became aware of the conductor's indignant bellowing to "open the door immediately." In an instant, they knew they had been found out.

Panicked, Lin shoved Tenzin from the cot. He hit the ground with a weighty thump. While he was still groaning in pain, Lin hissed at him to hide in the basket while she scrambled to her feet in a mad attempt to compose herself. She ran her hands frantically through her unkempt hair as Tenzin quickly wiggled into the narrow basket. Once he was crouched inside she hastily replaced the top, took a calming breath and then yanked open the door with a disarming smile plastered on her face. She found the conductor as well as two rather fierce looking crewmen waiting impatiently on the other side.

"Is there a problem, Conductor?" she asked politely. She affected a wide yawn. "It's very late and I'm very tired."

"Miss, we have reason to believe that you are harboring a stowaway. We need to have a look around."

Lin drew herself tall in her best impression of righteous indignation. "I beg your pardon!" she gasped, "Wherever would you get such a preposterous idea? How dare you accuse me of such a thing?"

"Several passengers have complained of the odd noises coming from your stateroom late at night," the conductor explained, "We're here to follow up."

"Can't this wait until the morning? It's extremely rude of you to interrupt my rest this way!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that. We're going to have to search your room tonight, miss," he declared implacably, already motioning forward the two crewmen before Lin could open her mouth to protest.

They shouldered past her with little more than noncommittal grunts and began unceremoniously turning her small stateroom upside down. Although she did her best to shield the basket from their view amid strident protests and claims of innocence, Lin knew it was only a matter of time before they discovered Tenzin…and when they did she and Tenzin were going to have a problem on their hands.

She was furiously wracking her brain for a plausible excuse for why she had a boy stuffed in a decorative basket in her stateroom when Tenzin suddenly popped up from his hiding place. Lin emitted a low groan. She twisted an exasperated glare over her shoulder at him while the conductor and the crewmen froze.

"There's no need to search any further," Tenzin sighed in surrender, "I'm right here."

"You couldn't hold out five more minutes?" Lin hissed at him in an underbreath, "I had it under control!"

"They were going to find me eventually," Tenzin replied, loud enough for all to hear, "I didn't pay the fare to come onboard. I broke the rules. I'm willing to suffer the consequences for my actions."

Lin rolled her eyes at his noble reply. It wasn't completely unexpected given Tenzin's sense of morality, but knowing that about him didn't help to quell Lin's annoyance. In fact, she wanted to kick him.

However, when the conductor and crew started to step forward to take Tenzin into custody, her exasperation was instantly forgotten and she threw up her hands to stave them off. "Wait a minute! You can't take him!" she cried in protest. Tenzin might be willing to go off with them without a fight, but Lin wasn't going to surrender so easily. "This isn't what it looks like!"

The claim was so outrageous that even Tenzin looked at her as if she'd sprouted a second head. As it was, the conductor's eyebrows shot up to his hairline in dubious challenge. "So this young man _didn't_ sneak onboard the train without paying the required fare?"

"Well, technically…yes," Lin hedged, "But I assure you that he has a very good reason for doing it."

"And what reason would that be?" the conductor indulged.

"It's simple. We didn't have enough money to pay for two fares, that's why."

That was the unvarnished truth and candidly forthright too. Lin was strangely proud of herself for the admission. For as long as she could remember, Tenzin had been scolding her on her penchant for fibbing her way out of tough situations. He was a firm believer in honesty being the best policy. With that in mind then, Lin decided to do something unprecedented. She told the truth. Based on what Tenzin had preached, she expected that doing so would make a difference with the conductor and compel him to deal compassionately with them. It didn't.

He and his crewmen pressed in on Tenzin once more and snatched him from the basket. He didn't fight them at all. Instead, he hung rather docilely in their grip as they escorted him towards the exit by his forearms.

"Wait!" Lin exclaimed when they would have dragged him into the corridor, "You can't take him! Don't you know who he is? That's the Avatar's son!" While nothing else she said seemed to make a difference those last four words froze the men in their tracks. The conductor turned back to regard her with a skeptical glance. "It's true," she insisted, "He's the Avatar's son! If you let us continue on to Omashu I promise that you will be compensated for the unpaid fare plus interest!"

"Lin, what are you doing?" Tenzin hissed, "Are you crazy?" He was understandably alarmed given that neither of them had the means to back up her wild promises. When they arrived in Omashu, paying off their debt would be the _last_ thing on their parents' minds.

"Tenzin, he's making a big deal about a few paltry silver pieces when he could have a whole bagful at the end of our journey," Lin embellished brazenly, "It doesn't make a lick of sense to me!"

Tenzin glared a look at her that could have crumbled stone. "Would you shut up?"

"No, I won't to shut up!" she cried, "They're arresting you, you idiot, and you're just standing there! We don't have to take this kind of treatment!"

"Will you let me handle this?"

"Why?" she challenged, "So you can let them drag you off and do whatever they want to you because you feel like you deserve it? No! I don't think so! You can't let them take you away like you're some common criminal, Tenzin! Your dad's the most powerful man in the world! You're practically royalty for crying out loud!"

Tenzin tipped an uncomfortable glance up at the conductor. "She doesn't know what she's talking about. I think the fumes from the train might be getting to her. I'd like to go to my cell now."

"I'm telling you he's an airbender!" Lin insisted stridently, "Tenzin, prove it to them! Go ahead! Show them the marble trick!"

He hung his head forward with a mortified groan. "Please take me away."

"You might want to rethink your decision," Lin warned them breezily, "When his father hears about the shabby way that he's been treated, he won't be happy." She buffed her nails against her nightgown. "I don't think I'd want to be you at all."

There was an uneasy pause among the men before they systematically began picking Lin's claims apart. "I think you're making this up! If he's the Avatar's son then why is he traveling by train instead of with a magical bison?" one of the crewman demanded, "Everyone knows that the Avatar has a magical bison!"

"And where are his tattoos?" the other one charged, "Airbenders are supposed to have tattoos, aren't they? Besides, he's got hair and I thought they were supposed to be bald!"

"He hasn't earned his tattoos yet," Lin argued, "But he will soon! And we had to take the train because Tenzin's bison was stolen. We've been so busy searching for him that Tenzin hasn't had a chance to shave his head. That's why we're on our way to Omashu…to get him back!" Even as she made the explanation, however, Lin was aware of how farfetched it sounded. Had she not personally experienced the events, she would have been filled with doubt as well. She glowered at Tenzin who had heretofore remained silent. "A little backup would be nice!"

Instead of confirming her story, Tenzin bit down on his lip and ducked his head which caused the conductor to narrow his eyes. "That's a rather fantastical story," he said, made more skeptical of Lin's claims due to Tenzin's silence, "but I do find your claims very hard to believe. However, it is clear to me now that this boy didn't mastermind this scheme alone. You obviously helped him to sneak onboard and so we're taking you into custody as well, young lady."

Tenzin came to life then. "Wait! You can't do that!" he burst out, "She paid her fare! You have no right!"

"I have every right," the conductor retorted as he jerked a nod to one of his men, "Take her now."

The man hadn't even taken a full step towards Lin before he was blasted back into the adjacent wall by a powerful gust of air. He sank to the floor with a surprised grunt as everyone in the room, except Lin and Tenzin, froze in place for the second time in a ten minute span. The three men stared at Tenzin in speechless amazement.

"You _are_ an airbender," the fallen crewman breathed in awe.

Lin leveled the conductor with a smug smile. "See? I told you. He's the Avatar's son."

"Yes, I am the Avatar's son," Tenzin confirmed in reluctant mumble. He stooped down to help the crewman he'd blown into the wall to his feet. "I'm sorry that I attacked you. It was a reflex. I didn't want Lin to get in trouble. This was my idea. She didn't do anything wrong. She was trying to help me. Please don't punish her for my mistake."

"Tenzin, you don't have to make any excuses for us," Lin scoffed, "They know the truth and now this whole misunderstanding will be cleared up." She surveyed the conductor haughtily. "It's late and we're very tired. Tenzin and I would like another stateroom. In fact, give us _two_ new staterooms because this one is entirely too small. I'd also like a snack because all this late night commotion has made me hungry."

"Oh, don't worry, little miss," he reassured her demurely, "You and the young sir will most assuredly get what's coming to you both." After making that promise, the conductor produced a small whistle from his trouser pockets and blew out a strident distress call. Moments later, a fresh reserve of crewmen arrived at the stateroom entrance, each one awaiting the conductor's orders. "Please take these two young people into custody," he told them.

"But…but…but he's _the Avatar's_ son," Lin argued as she and Tenzin were dragged away, "Do you have any idea what a huge mistake you're making? You can't treat us this way! You can't do this!"

"I don't care if he's the Avatar himself," the conductor stated, "You both owe me a debt and you _will_ repay it…one way or another."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

When Aang stepped out to join Katara on the private balcony that overlooked the Earth King's prized garden, she offered him a reassuring smile over her shoulder but it didn't quite reach her eyes. It was evident to Aang at first glance that she had been crying. Consequently, her vague reply of, "just thinking," was wholly unsatisfying to him. He already suspected the reason she'd fled to the balcony in the first place. What he couldn't be sure of was whether Katara's sadness was a result of missing Tenzin and Lin _yet again_, the emotional upheaval their epic journey had caused them and was _still_ causing…or the fact that today was Lin Beifong's birthday. He suspected that it was a combination of three with a healthy dose of the former which inevitably made the latter feel more acute.

Every year Lin's birthday always brought with it a mix of complicated emotions for Aang and Katara. They were naturally happy to celebrate the birth of a little girl they practically loved as their own, the daughter of their best friend and their own son's best friend. Lin was an integral part of their family. Yet, amid the happy celebration and well wishes, the memories of the child they had lost on the very same night would occasionally linger for the couple, particularly Katara. It proved to be a bittersweet time for them each year, with some years being sweeter than bitter and other years being not so sweet at all.

Suspecting that this was going to be one of those years for Katara, Aang sighed in commiseration and encircled her waist from behind. He pulled her back so that she was flush with his body, preparing himself for the moment when she tensed. By now, Katara knew the gentle gesture was his first step in getting her to talk about her feelings and by now Aang knew the signals she put out when she didn't want to talk about them. And she _didn't_ want to talk. So he held his breath and waited, only to emit a relieved little sigh when she anchored his forearms around her with her own and snuggled even deeper into his arms. Aang dropped a kiss to her shoulder and then rested his chin there.

"So…" he opened carefully, "…should I wait for you to begin on your own or should I press you about it?"

Katara cut him a wistful glance. "What can I say that I haven't said before?" she sighed, "I knew I was going to be a little sad because of the day. I was prepared for that. But I thought that Tenzin would be here and that would be enough to distract me because I'd be too busy shaking him like crazy and hugging the stuffing out of him at the same time, but…"

"…but instead he's on his way to Omashu right now," Aang finished for her glumly.

She grunted a mirthless chuckle and shook her head. "You know, I still can't get over it. Just when I'm ready to give _your son_ the benefit of the doubt, he does something that makes me want to strangle him all over again."

Aang pursed his lips at the meaningful emphasis she put on the words "your son." He angled a thoughtful look at Katara. "Tell me something…why are they always _my_ children when they've annoyed you?"

His wife favored him with a lopsided smile. "I'm going to let you meditate on that one for a while."

"If that's your subtle way of implying that I annoy you, Katara, I'm calling you out as a liar right now," Aang challenged playfully, "You think I'm completely adorable…you know you can't resist this face." He wiggled his eyebrows at her for good measure, causing Katara to snort a giggle despite her lingering sadness.

"Stop making me laugh, Aang!" she admonished him, "I'm trying to be brooding and reflective here."

"Oh, that's hopeless endeavor. You'll never get it right. Not without Zuko here to guide you in the proper way. No one does 'brooding and reflective' better than him." When he dared to give his best impression of a sour "Zuko" face, Katara lost the battle against laughing altogether. While she turned her face into his cheek to muffle her answering giggles, Aang said, "I love it when you laugh. You haven't done nearly enough of it in the last couple of weeks, Katara."

"In my defense, there haven't been very many reasons to laugh lately."

Aang straightened and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "True."

"And now Tenzin has taken off again…" she sighed in aggravation as she leaned back into him once more, "He's really starting to test my patience, Aang, and I _never_ thought I'd say that about him. He's supposed to be the good child. Bumi? He's been giving me grief since the day he was born so that goes without saying. Kya? Oh yeah, all the time. But Tenzin?" She shook her head in disbelief. "It's like I woke up in an alternate universe."

"It's the teenage curse. We knew it was coming. They hit a certain age and then they lose their minds."

Katara couldn't argue with that, still she mumbled, "I hate the teenage curse."

"I wish that woman…what was her name? Ling? I wish she had tackled them to the ground and held them here until we got back. We've been five steps behind them this entire time. That's the frustrating part."

"I'm starting to think that's been on purpose."

"Oh yeah, it's definitely on purpose. They're ducking us."

Katara shifted in his arms and regarded him with a challenging look. "Still think Tenzin deserves a little mercy?"

"Everyone deserves mercy, Katara," Aang reasoned sagely only to shrug an instant later and add, "But in this particular case…he's all yours."

She reached up to give his cheek a satisfied pat. "I thought you might come around to seeing things my way."

Despite her dry teasing, however, Aang could still detect the disappointment and sadness swirling in the depths of her eyes. "You miss him a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do…" Katara confessed in a thickened tone, her smile collapsing a bit, "He's my baby and I… All I've wanted this whole time was to hold him and see for myself that he was okay. And I don't know why, but his not being here makes dealing with the other thing so much harder."

"You're talking about the miscarriage right now, aren't you?" It was a superfluous observation because he already knew that she was.

"I don't even know why it makes me so sad, Aang," she mumbled, "It happened more than a decade ago. We barely knew I was pregnant. It's not like we'd even made up our minds on how we felt about it either. I didn't feel the baby kick or grow…didn't have a name for it… I wasn't even _thinking_ about one."

"It was still early."

"It could have been so much worse," she went on softly, more to herself than to Aang, "If the baby had been born and we'd held it and loved it and raised it…and then it had died… I don't think I would have survived that at all, Aang." She pulled his arms tighter around her as her tears began to flow. "That night Gran told me that the way I lost it was a blessing and I think she was right. I think it was a blessing."

He swept away the droplets of moisture that coursed her cheeks. "Then why are you crying right now?"

"Sometimes I wonder if what I imagine is more painful than what could have been reality," she mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"I see that baby grown up all the time. I've built this entire life for him in my head, Aang."

"Him?" Aang whispered hoarsely, "You thought it was a boy?"

"I _wanted_ another boy," Katara confessed in a thickened tone, "It didn't matter that Kya and I would be outnumbered. I love having little boys. They drive me crazy, but I think sometimes that's the best part."

"I always thought we'd have another girl. Kya was such an amazing little kid and she taught me so much about what it meant to be a man and a father that… I wanted to experience that again."

"I guess that's the reason it hurts so much," Katara sighed, "I don't know if what happened would haunt me this way if I didn't know now that moment had been my last chance, you know?"

"Your last chance for what?"

"To have a baby," she whispered, "All the hopes we had for another child went up in smoke that night. I didn't know that would be the last time that I would ever carry your child, Aang. I _never_ imagined that. I always thought that we would have more kids. I wanted that so much. And, for the most part, I've made my peace with how things are now, but there's still a part of me that lives with regret and wishes I'd made different choices…"

"Katara, there wasn't anything you could or couldn't have done. Maybe I don't understand completely because I'm not a woman and I don't know what it's like to carry a child and then lose it, but… I'm not disappointed that we didn't have more children. I wanted to, but I've never felt unfulfilled because we didn't. There's nothing missing from our lives now. We have all that we need."

She pressed closer to him, burying her trembling smile in his chest. "I know you're right. I know," she mumbled, but there remained a tiny part of her that remained unconvinced. There was a kernel of truth in what Aang had said…in some ways he would never completely understand what she was feeling.

Intellectually, she knew that Aang was being logical and wise. There _was _nothing missing from their lives. They had each other. They had their children. They had a _grandchild_. Life was as perfect for them as it could be. Unfortunately for Katara, it wasn't an intellectual matter at all. It was a matter of the heart. Her miscarriage had taken on so more meaning for her, not only because she had lost the pregnancy but because the loss also represented the loss of the future she had imagined for her and Aang.

Prior to that day, Katara had never imagined that Tenzin would be their last child. She had been sure they would have one, perhaps even two more. In fact, she had looked forward to giving Tenzin siblings who were closer to him in age, had even imagined those siblings being airbenders so that he and Aang wouldn't be quite so alone. Katara had harbored a lot of dreams and expectations, but all of that had changed in a single night. And now she found herself occasionally reliving the events of that night in her head, particularly when Lin's birthday came around, analyzing and re-analyzing her actions and regretting some of the choices she had made.

Perhaps she shouldn't have been so insistent on pushing Aang away when he wanted to help her. Perhaps she should have stayed home and called for a healer while Gran-Gran had tended to Toph. Or perhaps she could have still gone to deliver Lin but then sent for the healer after everything was over.

Instead, she had descended into a denial and depression so deep that she didn't know if she'd ever come out of it. She hadn't really cared about much of anything in the weeks that followed, not her family, not her children…not even Aang. Sometimes the memory of those awful months that followed was so acute and the ache in her chest so sharp that she felt like she was reliving them all over again. She regretted the wasted time.

However, Katara recognized the futility of dwelling on the past. Despite all her regret and sorrow, she couldn't change any of it. All she could do now was treasure what she _did_ have and hold on to the present as tightly as she could. Aang, her children, her family and her friends…they were Katara's entire world. She _needed_ to focus on that. She _needed_ to focus on getting her son back. Katara knew all of those things…but that didn't necessarily make the execution easy, especially when she suspected that her guilt over the miscarriage and her feelings about Tenzin were being hopelessly muddled.

She knew that she was likely doing a bit of emotional transference. In essence, she missed her son and she wanted him back home and the emptiness she felt over his absence was only made sharper by past regrets. Truthfully, nothing would make sense for Katara until Tenzin was home again.

Finally, Katara lifted her head and took a step back from Aang so that she could dry her face and compose herself. "I'm okay now," she reassured Aang when he continued to regard her with worried eyes, "I had a moment and now I'm better. Thank you for holding me."

Aang smiled at her. "Don't thank me for that," he laughed, "Holding you benefits me as much as it does you."

"Good to know your offers of comfort are given with an ulterior motive," she teased.

He didn't laugh that time, but instead asked gently, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Katara jerked a nod. "I'm tired and frustrated and with today being what it is my emotions are intensified. Once we find Tenzin and Lin things will be better."

"Toph already dispatched a messenger to Omashu to alert the king of Tenzin and Lin's impending arrival," Aang said, "He'll be on the lookout for them and if they show up at the palace then he knows to keep them there. In the meantime, Sokka is writing a letter to Suki and the boys to update them on where we are and to let them know we're alive."

"Good. So when do we pack up our supplies and leave?"

"Tomorrow," Aang replied hesitantly, "Maybe the day after that."

As he suspected, Katara was clearly unhappy with that. "Tomorrow? The day after?" she echoed stridently. "Why are we waiting at all? What's the point of delaying? Is there a reason we can't leave right now?"

"Katara, we've been traveling practically nonstop for almost three weeks now. Appa and Oogi are exhausted. _We're_ exhausted. We need to take some time to regroup and rest properly. Besides, we've got some business we need to attend to first."

"What kind of business?"

"Bumi," he sighed. Katara groaned aloud before he even began explaining himself. "That's what I came out here to tell you. He sent us a letter. It arrived at the palace while we were gone."

"Fantastic. So what has he done now?" Katara demanded flatly, preparing herself for the worst, "Please tell me the house is still standing and no one wants to take us to court."

"It's nothing like that," Aang laughed, "He wrote to scold us." Katara frowned in confusion. "Apparently, you and I are on his 'list' now," he clarified.

"Excuse me?"

Aang shrugged. "Those are his words, not mine," he replied, "He said that he's both offended and hurt that he hasn't heard from us in two weeks."

"He does remember that we're looking for his brother _who ran away_, right? I told him before we left that communication between us might be a bit sparse."

"Be that as it may, Bumi claims that he's feeling very unloved, unappreciated and dismissed at the moment. I think his exact words had something to do with 'teardrop stains on his pillow because there's no one to tuck him in at night' and a 'yawning void of emptiness where his heart used to be' or something to that effect… You know how he can be."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Oh brother."

"We should probably write to him before he 'collapses from sheer grief and loneliness,'" Aang quoted wryly.

He struggled to contain his laughter as he imagined his son writing such ridiculous drivel. And the odds were great that Bumi had been choking back his own laughter as he had written it as well. His eldest son was an oddball and quite the jokester, probably one of the most irreverent people Aang had ever known…and he loved that about him. He liked to think that Bumi had inherited his unique sense of humor from him, though Aang suspected that it had likely come from his Uncle Sokka as well.

"Oh," he added in afterthought, "He also said that he's contemplating running off to join the circus just so he can get a little attention. He wants to know what we think of that and if we would chase him if he did. We have four days to reply."

Katara didn't even crack a smile. "He'd better be kidding."

"I'm sure that he is, Katara," Aang reassured her mildly, "You know how silly and melodramatic Bumi is…but we _do_ need to write to him and let him know what's going on…just in case," he finished with a teasing grin.

"Don't even joke about that!" Katara retorted in a dire tone, "He's just crazy enough to do it and I don't know if I could go through this a second time."

Aang reached over to smooth the worried crease from her forehead. "Would you stop frowning? It's going to be okay. Don't worry so much. We are going to find Tenzin and Bumi is not going to run off and join the circus. Relax."

"You say that like you can simply make the pronouncement and have it come true."

He plucked at the lapels of his shirt. "Indeed. I am the Avatar after all and I have spoken."

"Yes and that's worked out so well for you thus far."

"I'm choosing to ignore your skepticism because I love you and I know you don't mean to doubt me."

"That's very magnanimous of you."

In spite of all his efforts to coax a smile from her, Katara continued to scowl which prompted Aang to reach out and tug her back into his arms. She yielded to his efforts with a good deal of grumbling and protests but once she was surrounded by his warmth she made no attempt to extricate herself. In fact, she hugged him back. Aang nuzzled a kiss across her temple. "It's going to work out," he whispered, "We'll update Bumi, take a couple days to rest and recover and then we'll leave for Omashu. It will be one day, Katara…two at the max."

"A lot can happen in one day, Aang. Don't even get me started on what can happen in _two_!"

"The kids are safe right now. They're on a train," he reasoned, "What's the worst that can happen?"

Katara tipped back her head to regard him. "You're going to regret asking that question," she predicted darkly.

Aang bit back a smile, oddly endeared by her rampant pessimism. "They'll be fine. After all they've endured, I'm sure Tenzin and Lin can manage to keep out of trouble until they reach Omashu."

* * *

"This has been a very unhappy birthday." Lin collapsed onto the narrow cot with a dramatic sigh. She rolled a doleful look towards Tenzin, who occupied the cot directly across from her. "I hate my life."

For some unfathomable reason the train conductor had taken it into his head to teach her and Tenzin "a much needed lesson in humility." Therefore, he had assigned them to every menial task and duty he could imagine. They had done everything from washing clothes to scrubbing chamber pots. It hadn't been a thrilling experience for either one of them to say the least. What was worse was that conductor had already informed them that he'd dispatched a message to their parents and that he intended to hold them until the aforementioned reached Omashu. In other words, their impulsive little side adventure was going to come to an abrupt end once they reached the train station. Lin was _not_ happy. It was shaping up to be a very unhappy birthday indeed.

As she lay in her bed, groaning over all the different places she ached, Tenzin said, "It will be better tomorrow. It has to be. He's practically had us clean the entire train. What's left for us to do?"

Lin grunted. "I wouldn't underestimate the man. He has a real mean streak."

"I wonder why that is," Tenzin commented in a mumbled breath.

The comment incurred Lin's narrowed green glare. "Something on your mind, Tenzin?"

"Well, you were kind of mouthy to him before," he interjected reluctantly but quickly added when Lin's irate glower intensified, "Not that it means you deserve enforced slave labor."

"Exactly! I am a Beifong! My mom is going to hear about this that's for sure," Lin muttered, only to frown with self directed anger an instant later because the thought had entered her head at all.

Sensing her internal misery, Tenzin shifted over onto his side so that they were facing each other and murmured, "I'm sorry this day has been so awful for you. This probably isn't how you imagined your twelfth birthday would be at all."

She buried her face deeper into her pillow. "I thought I'd be with my dad by now." She heaved a despondent sigh. "I don't know…I wanted things to be different, I guess."

"I know. But you're going to be with your dad. Soon, Lin."

Lin snorted her disbelief. "No, I won't, Tenzin. The dream is dead. You heard the conductor. As soon as we step off this train our parents are going to be there waiting for us. We won't even have the chance to look for my dad…or Oogi for that matter."

"That's what you thought would happen when we were in Ba Sing Se too and it worked out in our favor," he reminded her.

"No, that's what _you_ thought. You were ready for us to turn ourselves in."

"That's not how I remember it. You were freaking out and _I_ was the one who kept the level head."

"I'd like to level your head right now."

He started to argue with her, but then shook his head and thought better of it. "It doesn't matter. The point is, we didn't get caught and by tomorrow afternoon we'll be in Omashu. We're almost there, Lin. We've come too far to give up now."

"Avoiding our folks when we were in Ba Sing Se was a stroke of blind luck, but it's not going to hold," Lin argued, "We don't have any more secrets from them, Tenzin. They know our next move. We won't be able to dodge them this time."

"Lin, your lack of faith disappoints me," Tenzin tsked lightly, "Trust me on this. We'll find your father and we'll get Oogi back. I already have a plan for ducking the conductor once we reach the station. Our parents won't even _see_ us."

Her head popped up at the mention of a "plan," her morose demeanor suddenly replaced with one of keen interest. She scrambled upright with perked ears. "So what is it?" she pressed eagerly, "Let's hear what you have in mind."

Smiling over her swift shift in mood, Tenzin pointed up to the metal grate in the ceiling above their heads…one of the dozen or so gateways into the train's ventilation system. "There's a whole maze of vents up there. They lead to the roof of the train…to the _outside_ of the train," he whispered.

"How do you know for sure? Can we even fit?"

He made a face at her, as if offended that she even had to ask. "You know that I never make a plan without testing out all the variables first."

"So that's where you've been disappearing to lately…" Lin mumbled to herself.

"We can discuss the details of our escape later tonight," Tenzin promised in a low, careful tone, "when there aren't any prying ears about." He nodded meaningfully towards the bolted door, indicating the lone guard, commissioned to watch after them, stationed just on the other side of it. "In the meantime…"

Tenzin slipped from his cot and walked over to the small nightstand between their beds. Lin's curious frown became a surprised gasp when he pulled open the drawer and produced a delectably flaky fruit tart from inside of it…a dessert that was usually reserved for paying passengers. Tenzin turned to present the pastry to Lin with a small, self-conscious smile. "I know it's not what you had in mind, but… Happy birthday, Lin."

She gaped at him in amazement, both endeared and shocked by the gift. "Where did you get this?" Lin gasped, almost afraid to take the tart from his hands. She fixed him with a perceptive look. "I know the conductor didn't give it to you!"

"The kitchen throws out dozens of fruit tarts a day," Tenzin reasoned with a shrug, "What's one more? It's not like they're going to miss it."

Lin surveyed him with a wide, dubious green stare. "What are you saying, Tenzin? Did you _steal _this?"

"I prefer the term 'salvaged.'"

She rolled her eyes at his phrasing. "You stole it."

Tenzin ducked his head sheepishly. "Yeah…pretty much… I swiped it from the pastry tray when I was cleaning up after breakfast."

"Wow…first lying and now thievery," Lin teased him, "What's next for you? A full-fledged life of crime?"

"Har-har. Do you want it or not?"

Lin inhaled the sweet, aromatic scent of the tart with a rapturous expression. "I want it," she sighed, "It smells delicious." She looked at him again almost as if she were seeing him for the first time. "I can't believe you did this for me."

"I wish I could have done more for you. I know this isn't the way I would want to spend _my_ birthday."

"It's not so bad," Lin replied, shrugging, "After all, you're here." They smiled at each other before Lin leaned forward and dropped a quick peck onto his cheek. "Thank you, Tenzin."

It was a fleeting kiss, but they both froze in silence afterwards, their eyes firmly locked in a magnetic stare. Once again, Lin became aware of the odd ache in her chest as she looked at him and, for a moment, it felt as if she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of every aspect of his face.

Had his lashes always been so ridiculously long? Why was she only now noticing that his eyes also had flecks of blue in them? And when did his features become so perfectly arranged? Where had all the boyish awkwardness gone? But, most importantly, why was she even noticing at all? The last question plagued her but, as hard as she tried, Lin couldn't banish the thoughts from her mind. Unnerved, she gathered all her willpower she had to look away from him and, by the time she did, they were both blushing hotly.

"So…um…what flavor is this tart anyway?" she stammered uncomfortably.

"I dunno," he answered with equal discomfort. He folded down beside her. "I just grabbed one from the top."

Lin took a nibble and hummed a small moan of approval. "Coconut and pecan," she said, breaking the small tart in two and offering one half to Tenzin, "It's not bad. Not as good as your dad's, but it will do."

Tenzin smiled and took a bite. "No one makes fruit pies better than my dad," he agreed around a mouthful.

Of course, that was a well kept secret between the three of them. Usually, he and his father were banned from the kitchen because his mother harbored an irrational fear that they would burn it down if they were given free reign. However, on those occasions when Katara was away on White Lotus business, Aang, Tenzin and Lin would take over the kitchen and bake pies together. It had been their thing for years now, their personal bonding time. Tenzin wondered if that would change once Lin connected with her father. He decided to ask her.

"Tenzin, don't worry about it. You and I aren't going to stop being friends just because I get to know my dad," she assured him.

He wasn't the least bit mollified by her reassurance, however. "But you said that you wanted to go live with him."

Lin polished off the remainder of tart and then dusted her fingers free of crumbs. "I didn't say I _wanted_ to live with him," she clarified, "I said that's what I would do if my mom tried to stop me from knowing him."'

"What's the difference? You'd still be leaving Republic City." His words became almost inaudible when he added, "You'd be leaving me."

"Tenzin, I wouldn't leave you," she sighed, "When I said what I did before…you know I was only shooting off my mouth. I couldn't really leave Republic City. It's my home. I couldn't leave my mom, even as angry as I am with her right now and…I definitely couldn't leave you."

"I know how much your dad means to you," he whispered, "and if you had to go away, I would understand, Lin. You've wanted this for a long, long time. All I really want is for you to be happy. I don't want you to hurt anymore."

She nudged him with her shoulder and offered him a crooked smile when he finally looked at her. "I never hurt when I'm with you, Tenzin."

He made a scoffing sound at that declaration. "Yeah, right! You always say I get on your nerves," he reminded her.

"And you tell me that I make you crazy," she retorted.

"Well, you _do_ make me crazy…but I don't know how I would get by if you didn't."

"That's exactly how I feel about you," she whispered. They sat together in companionable silence for a bit before Lin asked rather pensively, "Do you think that it will always be like this between us, Tenzin? Will we always be friends?"

He didn't even have to think about his reply. There was no hesitation whatsoever when he answered, "Absolutely. I don't doubt it at all. We're friends for life." He broke in half what remained of his fruit tart and passed it to her. He lifted his portion aloft for a mock toast. "Friends for life, Lin Beifong."

Lin grinned at him and gamely tapped her morsel to his. "Friends for life."


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

Katara had extreme difficulty coordinating her steps and Aang wasn't surprised.

He, Katara, Sokka and Toph had come up with the brilliant idea to sneak into Kuei's beloved stash of aged wines and throw themselves an impromptu party in Lin's honor. They had spent the evening ruminating on the past, telling awesomely bad jokes to one another and essentially enjoying each other's company. It had been a nice break from the galloping pace they had kept up for the past few weeks and it had been especially needed for Katara and Toph. Although they both did their best to put on brave faces, it was clear that coming up empty in Ba Sing Se had left them heartsick and missing their children more than ever.

And so Katara and Toph drank. And they laughed. And once they were done drinking one bottle, they opened another and drank some more. By the end of the night, the four had emptied three whole bottles of wine between them with Katara and Toph consuming the majority. Occasional drinkers though they were, Katara and Toph had imbibed enough alcohol to put an elephant hippo to sleep. That was a lot of liquor for two small women. And while Aang and Sokka had enjoyed a few drinks that night as well, they weren't anywhere near falling down drunk. Both men had little more than a pleasant buzz while the ladies were practically in a stupor.

When Aang had finally managed to coax his intoxicated wife to her feet in preparation for bed, he had left Toph wailing some bawdy Earth Kingdom tune at the top of her lungs in the Earth King's common room while Sokka tried, unsuccessfully, to quiet her down. The beleaguered warrior had thrown his brother-in-law a silent plea for assistance, but Aang couldn't help him. He already had his hands full with one hundred and twenty-five pounds of giggling, drunken female. He couldn't handle two.

Presently, he guided Katara carefully down the hall, guiding her footsteps so that she didn't go crumpling to the ground. She treated it as a game, making silly, unfocused attempts to place her foot before his with each step. That made keeping her upright very difficult for Aang. The situation was complicated further because Katara was suddenly wildly fascinated by everything from his beard to Kuei's ornately decorated walls and she would stop every other second to "ooh" and "aah."

Given her severely altered state, Aang was surprised she could walk at all, not that she was doing very much of it anyway. With his help she managed, slowly and albeit clumsily, to stagger alongside him. Of course, she did all of this while hanging on limply to Aang's neck and telling him over and over what a "beautiful, beautiful person" he was. Aang was still chuckling over her enthusiastic declaration that she was "glad they had made babies together" when they finally reached their bedroom door.

Aang had to release her briefly to open the bedchamber door and the instant he did Katara began to list to the side. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He caught her before she could tumble to the ground in a drunken heap. "Careful, Katara."

"Did you know this room is spinning?" she slurred in wonder as he guided her into the room, "How does the Earth King do that? It's amazing! We should have something like this at home."

He bit back his spurt of laughter. "Sweetie, I think you're the one who's spinning, not the room."

Not bothering to ponder that explanation very long, Katara lurched around suddenly and flung her arms around his neck. "You're a good husband, Aang!" she rhapsodized in an inebriated smile, "Have I told you lately how beautiful and sweet and kind you are?"

"Only about a dozen times in the last five minutes."

Her smile broadened. "Well, it's true." She planted a clumsy kiss to the corner of his mouth, her blue eyes luminous. "I love you." The avowal was sweet, but also punctuated by a loud hiccup. Katara giggled.

Aang shook his head wryly. "You love everything tonight, Katara."

"No! No! I _really_ love you!" she insisted loudly, "You're my best friend in the whole, entire world and I love talking to you and bending with you and traveling the world with you and having a family with you and…and…and having sex with you. I really _love_ having sex with you. It's my favorite."

"That's good to know," he grunted in distraction as he anchored her around her waist and began lugging her dead weight over towards the bed. She did little to ease his burden either. Instead, Katara continued to hang limply from his neck while he dragged her across the room, as if he was taking her for a ride. She even had the audacity to squeal, "Weee," as he did so. When they finally reached the bed, Aang sat her down and began removing her moccasins. Meanwhile, Katara swayed and dipped and chattered away drunkenly.

"Hey, Aang?"

"Yeah, Katara?"

"Wanna know what else I love?" she chirped merrily.

Aang removed one shoe, tossed it aside and began to work on the other. "What else?"

"I love rice wine. It is _really_ good and everyone should have it. That should be a law!"

He angled an amused smile up at her. "I'm thinking you're going to change your mind about that tomorrow."

"Nope. Nope. Nope." Katara shook her head emphatically as she made the denial. "I'm firm about this! Absolutely firm! Make it so, Avatar!"

"Yeah…I'm sure you are firm," Aang indulged, "I'll check with you tomorrow to see if that's still the case."

He was unaware as he worked to remove her belt that Katara was fuzzily contemplating the crown of his head and the pale tattoo at its center. When he lifted his head again she made an ungainly attempt to trace the edges of his arrow. Aang caught her hand before she could poke his eye out. "I love your tattoos, Aang," she confessed softly before leaning forward to add in a conspiratorial whisper, "I saw you naked once."

"I know," he whispered back, "We've had three children together."

"No…not then. _Before_ we had kids…when _we_ were kids… You were in my tent and I saw you naked…well, _practically_ naked anyway… I like it when you're naked, Aang. I love your body. You should _always_ be naked."

"Thank you for sharing that."

"I like to tell the truth because the truth is good and we should tell it," she announced randomly.

He blinked at her, his brow furrowed in bewilderment. "Should that make any sense to me?"

"A wise man once said, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush but three will get you dinner.'"

Aang shook his head in amusement. "Katara, 'a wise man' didn't say that. _Sokka_ did."

Katara started to argue that point but then knit her brows in a befuddled frown and snapped her mouth closed. "You're right…" she acknowledged after a thoughtful pause, "…but it's _still _a good quote."

"Hmm…yeah…"

She barely registered Aang's sardonic response because at that precise moment Katara finally realized that she was shoeless. She wiggled her bare toes in amazement. "Oh wow! You took off my shoes and I didn't even notice," she exclaimed in overblown wonder, "You're really fast!" She patted his head affectionately. "You're the best, Aang! I'm so glad I married you."

Aang couldn't help but laugh at her then. "I think you need to go to bed."

"I'm very relaxed," she declared rather nonsensically, "I forgot I was supposed to be sad. I think Toph forgot to be sad too. We had a good night, I think." She slumped forward with a hazy smile to frame his face. "Wine is very good."

Rolling his eyes with a suppressed chuckle, Aang began removing her leggings. "Yeah…I'm curious to know what your morning will be like."

Katara flopped back into the mattress with a contented sigh. "It will be the best morning ever! And do you know why? Because we had rice wine, Aang, my lovely husband." She threw out her arm in an exuberant salute. "To the wine!" She was still giggling over what to her was a private joke when Aang finished removing her pants. Katara bolted upright when the cool air hit her bare legs, her forehead creased in a deep frown. She glanced down at her exposed thighs before looking back at Aang.

"You're taking off my clothes," she accused him with a gasp.

Aang froze, her leggings still dangling from his fingers. "Yeah… I'm getting you ready for bed, remember?"

She gave him a suspicious once-over, the shock gradually fading from her eyes to be replaced with something else. "Well, how come you aren't taking off yours too?"

"Because I thought I'd get you ready first and then I'd take care of myself."

Katara regarded him with unconcealed skepticism before her mouth began to curl into a knowing grin. "I know what you're doing, Aang. Shame on you for taking the easy route. You're trying to seduce me. You want me right now, don't you?"

He rolled his lips inward to keep from laughing. "Sweetie, trust me…that is the _last_ thing on my mind."

She winked at him…or at least attempted to and, once again, Aang had to choke back a guffaw. "Don't try to deny it. You want me…can't resist me." She sprawled back on the bed in what she meant to be a seductive pose but what struck Aang as a cross between something ridiculously comical but also strangely endearing. She crooked her finger at him. "Well, come on. I'm all yours," she invited in a sultry tone.

Shaking his head in both chagrin and affection, Aang leaned over her and gently grasped her by the lapels of her open tunic to haul her upright again. Katara immediately wrapped her legs around his waist in an effort to bring him closer. Although Aang held himself rigid in her hold even the small bit of contact their bodies made caused him to groan. He briefly closed his eyes in a bid for strength before pressing a sweet, lingering kiss to her mouth and then resolutely loosening her hold on him. Katara pouted in disappointment.

He brushed his knuckle across her protruding lower lip. "I really appreciate the offer and as…um…tempting as it is…I'm going to have to refuse you, Katara. You're tired and so am I. We should sleep tonight."

Katara frowned, incredulous. "Wait a second," she slurred fuzzily, "What? You're telling me no? But…but you _never_ say 'no' to sex!"

"I guess there's a first time for everything," he murmured wryly, though there was a split second when he thought about taking it back.

After all, this was his half-naked wife sitting here and looking at him with an expression that practically begged him to…well…it was clear that she wanted him. And it had been a while since they were last together, a little more than three weeks actually. It would only require a few quick adjustments in the barrier of clothing between them and then they could both have what they wanted. Aang moaned inwardly at the tempting thought. He was only human, after all.

But the timing wasn't right. Katara wasn't right. And he couldn't allow himself to take advantage of her vulnerable state. With that fixed resolve in his heart, Aang managed to remain firm despite the rising demands of his body. He dropped his head forward with a defeated sigh.

"Katara, this isn't going to work. I can't."

She suddenly drew herself upright with a stunned gasp as a theory took root in her liquor addled brain. "Oh, oh, oh! I know this! I've heard about this before. Sometimes when a man gets to be a certain age he has a hard time…no pun intended there…getting it up. Is that what's wrong with you, Aang? You can't get it up?" She slipped the tips of her fingers into the waistband of his trousers, her mouth curved in a provocative smile that made Aang want to laugh even while he was overwhelmed with the need to kiss her. "Don't worry. I can help you with that."

Aang swept up her questing fingers before she could discover that "help" wasn't at all necessary and brought them to his lips, fighting back another spurt of laughter as he did so. "Sweetie, believe me, it has nothing to do with that. That's not the issue here."

She regarded him with a blank look. "We have an issue? What issue?"

"It's not a good time," he told her, "Maybe we can do it some other night when you're less…um…_relaxed_."

It dawned on Katara then that he was turning her down. "You're really telling me _no_?"

Aang nodded sadly in confirmation. "I'm really telling you no."

Within moments, Katara's mood shifted. She pouted a little, her bleary blue eyes dark and vulnerable as she met his solemn stare. "You don't want me…" she surmised in a suffocated little voice, "But…but why?"

He nudged her chin tenderly when she would have looked away from him. "Hey, look at me…I _always_ want you," he whispered, "But you're drunk and you're hurting tonight and I don't want to take advantage of that."

"I am _not_ drunk…and I'm not hurting either." The denial was weak at best. Aang leveled her with a penetrating look. "Okay, maybe I'm a _little_ drunk…"

"You and Toph both were using the wine to run from your problems tonight," he reasoned softly, "She didn't want to think about missing Lin on her birthday and you didn't want to think about Tenzin and the baby we lost. And maybe that will work for a little while, but it's only a temporary fix."

She stiffened with false bravado. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know it was a hard day for you, Katara. It was hard for me too. I just wish you'd chosen to talk to me instead of drinking yourself into near unconsciousness because tomorrow you're going to have a hangover like you wouldn't believe."

"Talking doesn't change anything," she mumbled, "…tired of talking… I just…I don't want to think about it anymore." She fixed him with beseeching eyes brimming with tears. "Can't I not think about it…just for a little while…please?"

With an aching heart, Aang nodded and gathered her close to press a tender kiss to her forehead. "That's okay. I'll give you whatever you need, Katara."

She shuddered in his arms and tucked her face into his throat, her breath creating moist puffs of condensation against his skin. "Aang?" she whispered shakily in a way that made him think she was about to share something extremely profound. She clenched her slender fingers in his shirtfront. "Aang?"

He tipped a glance down at her. "What is it, sweetie? What do you want to tell me?"

"I think I'm going to be sick."

He managed to retrieve the chamber-pot just in time. Katara doubled over and emptied what was left of her dinner and the liquor into the copper tin and continued to dry heave long after her stomach had voided. Like a dutiful husband, Aang held back the tangled waves of her hair and waited patiently for the violent wave of vomiting and nausea to pass. An eternity seemed to pass before she finally collapsed back into the bed with a low groan. Shaking, sweating, somewhat sobered and significantly spent in the aftermath, Katara was sure in those few moments that she was going to die.

After a few moments had passed, Aang stretched out beside her with a cool compress for her head and a cup of water. Katara grimaced at the offer as if he were holding a poisonous serpent. "You need to drink something," he insisted softly.

Her stomach rolled and pitched at the suggestion alone. "Pass," she grunted. "I'd rather not _swallow_ anything right now." She shuddered at the thought. "But I will rinse out my mouth."

"Better?" he asked after she was done and he had set aside the cup.

"Actually no," she rasped, passing the cup back to him with a deep crimson blush of mortification, "I feel like death. I'm completely humiliated right now. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Her tummy lurched again, perfectly timed with the awful drumming in her head. She removed the compress and tossed it onto the nightstand because it wasn't really helping. "Gah. My head is spinning so bad."

"It's okay, Katara. You don't have to feel embarrassed. I'm your husband. If I can't see you at your worst then who can? It comes with the territory."

"Really not helping, Aang," she groaned. She struggled to shake off the lingering fog in her brain but some haziness still remained. Katara pressed at her pounding temples. "I made a total fool of myself just now."

"Not a total fool," he assured her gently. He grinned at her. "The part where you tried to seduce me was pretty cute though. It was a definite chore turning you down." She groaned again. He sobered a bit before he reached over to smooth tendrils of unkempt hair from her forehead. "I've never seen you drink that much before. Was today that much of a struggle for you?"

"It wasn't the day exactly," she sighed wearily, "It's everything. I'm tired, Aang. I miss Tenzin. I miss Bumi. I miss our home. I want this to be over."

"You've had a really rough time with this, haven't you?" He had known that she was struggling but Aang hadn't quite realized that it was to such a severe degree.

Katara turned her face into his chest and nodded. "I've been worried about him and Lin for so long and I thought once we came back to Ba Sing Se that I could finally stop worrying. I know I won't feel right until I can hold him in my arms and see for myself that he's okay."

"I understand. I'm sorry you've been feeling this way. I'm sorry I haven't been able to help you feel better."

"You _have_ helped me feel better," she whispered. She pressed her hand against his cheek. "You've made me laugh when there were times when I felt like I'd never laugh again. This journey would have been ten times more awful without you, Aang."

He covered her hand with his own and then brought it around to his lips for a kiss. "I know you're frustrated, but we _are_ going to get him back soon, Katara."

"Not soon enough for me," she mumbled.

"Do you want to leave tomorrow then?" he asked, "We'll leave first thing in the morning if that's what you want."

Katara closed her eyes, swallowed thickly and nodded. "Yeah…" she said after a moment's deliberation, "…that's what I want. I know it's selfish to push everyone this way, but… I can't sit here another moment."

"Okay, we'll go," he conceded with a heavy sigh, "I'll let Sokka know. In the meantime, you should get some sleep then. You're going to feel terrible in the morning."

Aang helped her finish getting undressed and then afterwards went down the hallway to inform Sokka of their change in plans. The two took twenty minutes to make preparations for the next day before deciding to call it a night themselves. When Aang reentered his room, Katara was already burrowed deep beneath the covers, presumably fast asleep. However, after Aang undressed, extinguished the candlelight on the nightstand and crawled into bed with her, Katara immediately rolled over to snuggle at his side. He smiled in contentment as she rested her cheek against his bare chest.

"I thought you'd be asleep already," he whispered.

"…close…" she mumbled, "…been waiting for you…"

"Well, I'm here now. Get some rest." He expected her to drop off immediately after that, but instead she whispered his name. "What is it?"

"…meant what I told you earlier," she confided drowsily.

He smiled into her hair. "And what's that? You told me a lot of things, so what did you have in mind specifically?"

"…you're a good husband…love you…glad I married you…" she yawned in answer.

Aang's smile widened at that and he pulled her closer. "I'm glad I married you too, Katara."

"Hey, Aang?"

"Yeah?"

"…did you…really think…I was cute…seducing you…?"

"Cute _and_ very sexy," Aang replied meaningfully, "I like it when you seduce me."

"Good…" she added in a near indistinct mumble as she started to drift off completely, "…gotta do that a lot more…"

His breath caught at the candid admission, not because Katara was so evidently focused on getting into his pants but because he was amazed by the realization that, when all of her inhibitions were stripped away, Katara's desires were quite simple. She wanted him. Physically, emotionally…it didn't particularly matter. She only wanted _him_…just as much as he wanted her. It was an incredible truth. No matter how long they were together, Aang would always be humbled by the fact that Katara had fallen in love with him at all.

Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to tell her how profoundly her words had affected him because mere seconds after she made the declaration Katara shattered the silence with a resonating snore.

* * *

When the train rumbled to a stop, Tenzin reached over to grab Lin's hand. "You ready?"

She jerked a nod. "I'm ready."

Taking a deep breath, Tenzin used the cover of the grinding sound of the train's heavy iron wheels to mask the noisy clatter he made as he blew aside the metal grate. When that was done, he assisted Lin up into the ceiling on a current of air and waited for her to climb into the vent. Once she was secure, he did the same for himself. The quarters were pretty cramped. He barely had room to maneuver the grate cover back into place but after a few moments of plotting out the logistics he and Lin got it done.

The vent was low. It was definitely cramped. But they were only minutes away from freedom so the discomfort hardly mattered.

Tenzin grinned at Lin. "I suppose this is a bad time to ask you if you're claustrophobic."

She responded to that with a good-natured sneer. "Yep. I'd say so."

"Let's get this show on the road then."

It was a slow crawl. They had to make frequent stops along the way because sometimes the ventilation system would lead them into open areas where large crowds were gathered and they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. They knew the precise moment when the conductor became aware of their disappearance because they occasionally caught glimpses of the crew scrambling into action below them. Lin and Tenzin knew they didn't have much time because it likely wouldn't be too long before the conductor uncovered their means of escape.

They burst out into the brilliant light of the balmy afternoon a few minutes later near the very rear of the train. Once their eyes had adjusted to the sun, they scanned the dense crowd milling a few hundred feet ahead for any signs of their parents. Lin held her breath in anticipation.

"Do you see them?" she pressed anxiously, "Any sign of Appa?"

Finally, Tenzin shook his head. "No. They're not there. Come on," he said, already grabbing hold of her hand, "We need to move."

Lin bent them down to the surface on a column of earth and once they were on the ground, the two took off running. Behind them they could detect the emerging shouts of their pursuers, but they were quickly swallowed by the mass of people filling the train station. They weaved their way into the thick crush of patrons, careful to keep a keen eye out for the bobbing heads of the crewmen. However, they knew that the men could only take the chase so far because they had to keep near to the train and be ready for its next departure. From that point, it was pretty easy for Tenzin and Lin to avoid being recaptured. Once they were safely on the outer fringes of the crowd, they quickly blended into the milling populace and made a beeline for the nearby marketplace.

"So where are we going now?" Tenzin asked Lin when she seemed to have a particular destination in mind.

She glanced back at him. "I'm thinking that if that merchant tried to sell Oogi, this would be the place where he would do it."

"Good idea. We can ask around about the Zheng family while we're here."

Their first few attempts to locate Oogi weren't at all successful. Some people they spoke to had never seen a flying bison in person, but most everyone agreed that they couldn't recall having seen any such animal around Omashu. However, they were reassured that if anyone were interested in buying such a rare creature, it would likely be their eccentric king. The revelation was actually rather ironic because, according to the information they had gathered on the Zheng family, that family was very closely acquainted with Omashu's king. It seemed like a grand opportunity to kill two birds with one stone…at least from Lin's perspective.

For her in particular, the news was unbelievably welcome because she hadn't relished the idea of showing up at the Zheng estate unannounced. Likely she wouldn't have even made it past the gate. The King of Omashu, however, would serve as an awesome go between. It seemed to Lin that if she and Tenzin were going to get the answers they needed, they were going to need the king of Omashu's help. With a half-formed plan in mind, Lin dragged Tenzin over to a relatively quiet corner of the busy marketplace to tell him her thoughts.

"We need to get in to see the king," Lin declared implacably, "We can find Oogi and my dad in one fell swoop."

Because the task seemed ridiculously impossible to Tenzin at the moment, he did what most airbenders did when presented with an obstacle…he evaded it. "Hey, did I ever tell you that my brother was named after the king's uncle? It's a very interesting story."

Lin scowled at him, clearly annoyed by the random segue. "About nine dozen times. What does that have to do with anything right now?"

"Just a fun fact, I guess. It…it's just ironic that…you know…that we're here now…" Tenzin yammered on nervously, "…because…you know…how my family sort of has a connection to the king…be-because my brother's name is Bumi and his uncle's name was Bumi…and we need to see the king…and…"

"…that's it!" Lin exclaimed excitedly, "_You_ can do it, Tenzin! _You_ can get us in to see the king!"

"Me?" he bleated, "Why me?"

"You just said it! Your family is connected to the king! This is perfect! Two dusty kids with no social connections would _never_ get in to see him, but the son of Avatar Aang definitely would! We'll just go to the palace and tell them who you are!"

"Right. Because revealing my identity to strangers has worked so well for me up until this moment," he retorted drolly. He ticked off the points with his fingers. "So far we've been kidnapped, stalked and forced into manual labor all because I'm the _Avatar's son_! What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Aang and Bumi were close friends! It's our leg up," Lin argued, "Tenzin, this is going to work!"

"No, it isn't! Yes, my dad and Bumi were friends but King Bumi is dead now," Tenzin emphasized, "His nephew is Omashu's new king and my dad doesn't know him very well and the king doesn't know _me_ at all! He has no reason to see me whatsoever."

"Will you stop being so pessimistic? We can try at least."

"Okay, fine!" he huffed indignantly, "We'll do it your way! But when we're thrown into his dungeon on some trumped up charge please remember that I was against this plan from the beginning!"

To Tenzin's everlasting surprise, they weren't thrown into a dungeon at all. In fact, upon introducing themselves they were told that the king had been expecting them and were then promptly led into the palace and dispatched to two female servants who were waiting for them. Although they understandably were uneasy and confused by that surprising revelation, Lin and Tenzin reluctantly followed the attendants to the adjoining suites that would serve as their living quarters during their visit with the king. All the while their minds were racing with all sorts of dire possibilities.

When the attendants turned to leave after delivering them to their rooms, however, Tenzin impulsively caught hold of one's sleeve and asked, "Why exactly was the King expecting us? Did he know we were coming?"

"The Avatar and his family always have a standing invitation in the king's palace and therefore we are always expecting you," the attendant replied graciously. When she saw that Tenzin was mollified by that explanation, she added, "Welcome young master Tenzin and young mistress Lin. We hope you will enjoy your stay with us here. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

"See? I told you," Lin preened smugly when they were alone. "We're finally getting the treatment we deserve!" She did a slow pivot, examining the lushly decorated room with a low whistle of appreciation before something in particular caught her eye. Lin approached a silver dish filled with ripe fruits and plucked one, juicy purple grape from the bounty. She popped the morsel into her mouth with a low hum of appreciation. "Now _this_ is how the Avatar's son and friends should be treated!"

"Have you ever seen a bed that big in your entire life?" Tenzin breathed in equal awe, "I think my whole family could fit in that bed and Oogi too!"

"And this is just _your_ room," Lin reasoned, "I wonder what mine looks like!" She snagged hold of Tenzin's hand. "Come on! Let's check it out!"

Much like Tenzin's quarters, Lin's bedroom was also decorated in expensive green silks, accented with gold and brown with a large, four poster bed, a massive sitting area and a hand crafted fireplace. Lin sucked in a stupefied breath. "This place is amazing."

However, her awe did have its limits. She scowled in displeasure when she noted a full sized portrait of the late King Bumi hanging on the wall behind the sitting area. It wasn't the first one she had seen during her brief tour of Omashu's royal palace. As the attendants had guided them to their rooms, Lin had taken notice of other paintings, as well as stone carved busts and life-sized sculptures of the late Bumi all throughout the palace. She mentioned it to Tenzin, who had also noticed.

"It's a little weird that they're all over the place like this, don't you think? Though I gotta admit, if those statues we passed before are at all accurate, he was pretty buff for an old guy."

"Yeah…he was, wasn't he?"

Lin nodded in agreement but then shrugged a shoulder. "Still don't get all the portraits and statues though. It's like they practically worship the guy."

"Well, he was a very revered king here in Omashu," Tenzin reasoned, "Completely insane, but brilliant and fair. Besides that, he was the greatest earthbender who ever lived. I'm not surprised that his likeness is everywhere."

Instantly, Lin stiffened and slowly turned to face him. "Excuse me? Did you say 'greatest earthbender who ever lived?' No, I don't think so. That is my mother. Hands down."

"Lin, your bias is showing. Your mother is excellent. I won't deny that, but King Bumi is the only earthbender…the only _person_ really to best the Avatar in a fight…well, if you don't factor in Princess Azula of Fire Nation, but that was a sneak attack so it doesn't count."

"What?" Lin balked, "My mother _trained_ the Avatar and she invented metalbending _and_ she did all of that when she was _twelve_ and blind to boot! A one hundred and twelve year old man besting a twelve year old _unrealized_ Avatar does not compare in the slightest to those kinds of accomplishments and it definitely doesn't rate being called the 'greatest earthbender who ever lived!' The fact that you even said that is an insult to me and my mother!"

Tenzin had a difficult time biting back his smile. "Feel very strongly about this, do you?"

Lin punched her index finger squarely into the center of his chest. "You bet I do, buddy! Nobody underestimates Toph Beifong! Nobody!"

"So then…since you're so protective of her…maybe you'd be willing to stop being so angry at her and cut her some slack about this thing with your father," he suggested meaningfully, "It's time to let all those bad feelings go, don't you think?" Lin snapped her mouth shut, realizing belatedly that she had just allowed herself to be baited. She glared at Tenzin. "Don't be angry with me," he soothed, "I'm only saying this because you _need_ to hear it. I can't bear to watch you cut yourself off from your mom."

"I have good reason to do it!"

Tenzin shook his head. "No. It's almost like you're forcing yourself to hate her, Lin, and it doesn't have to be like that. You obviously have a great deal of respect for Toph. You feel very strongly about her. Don't suppress those emotions just because you're hurt and confused. Try to see her point of view."

She compressed her lips into a thin line and turned away from him. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about _her_. And I definitely don't want to consider her point of view!"

"How can you have so much esteem for her but then seem to give her so little credit?" Tenzin cried in frustration, "She would never hurt you on purpose and you know it!"

"When your parents lie to _you_ for your whole life about something so huge then get back to me on how you deal with it, Tenzin!" she flared, "As for me, right now I'm doing the best I can. I'm trying _not_ to hate her! But that doesn't mean I want to love her either!"

"Lin, she's your mother. She's not the heartless mon—,"

"Stop it! I said I don't want to talk about it!" Her reverberating shout shocked them both into frozen silence. Tenzin jerked to attention as if she had physically punched him in the face. Lin groaned over his expression, guilt, anger and frustration churning away simultaneously in her belly. It took a few moments for her to regain her composure and address Tenzin in a calmer tone. "I didn't mean to yell at you," she mumbled, "I don't want to fight. But I don't want to discuss it either and I don't appreciate you trying to plead her case to me, Tenzin. I've told you that before."

"I'm trying to help you."

"Well, stop doing it! No one asked you! I don't need your help!"

"Lin, I really think—,"

"I need to get washed up and so do you," she interrupted dismissively, nodding towards the door in an unspoken request for him to leave, "You should go now. The King will probably see us soon."

Tenzin didn't argue, but instead loped towards the exit with his shoulders stooped forward. However, just before he left, he decided to add one last parting shot. "You can't run from your problems forever, Lin. Trust me on this. Eventually, you're going to have to deal with your feelings…one way or another."

* * *

**A/N: Thought I would comment on this in case it became a subject of debate. **

**No, Tibetan monks do not drink alcohol. The reason being that, in order to attain the path to enlightenment, one must have a clear mind. So, in essence, a Tibetan monk would not take in any mind altering substances that could hinder their journey towards enlightenment. However, I'm not sure how rigidly Aang held himself to that standard. He did accept the tea General How offered him in order to achieve the Avatar State and that most definitely affected his nervous system. The point being, I don't think it's a stretch that Aang would have a drink or two on occasion. But I don't think he would drink to the point of intoxication, which is why I didn't have him do so. That's just _my_ interpretation though. Not saying it's right or wrong, just explaining where my head was when I wrote this.**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

"I think I'm going to die."

Aang had heard a similar refrain from Katara throughout the morning and well into the afternoon, so he wasn't surprised to hear it from Toph as she shuffled past him and made a weak attempt to remount Oogi. She didn't even have the coordination to earthbend herself up into his saddle. Unfortunately for Aang, any attempt she made to do so ended in unpleasant earth spikes to his behind. He might have suspected she was doing it on purpose if she didn't mutter a curse with each failed attempt. In an effort to protect his bruised posterior from further abuse and also assist Toph in the process, Aang bent a swirling current of air beneath her feet and floated her up onto the bison's back.

A moment later he heard the muted thud she made as she collapsed against the saddle. "Are you okay, Toph?"

"I'm good. Thanks, Aang," she grunted down at him, "…gonna die now."

Sokka approached him soon after, shaking his head in amused chagrin. "I tried to warn her to take it easy last night…" he chuckled.

"I heard that," Toph grumbled, "You can bite me, Sokka."

He laughed again before flicking Aang with a questioning look. "So how's Katara? Is she feeling any better?"

Aang shook his head. "She's miserable. She's gotten sick three times since we left this morning and she's been extremely nauseated the rest of the time," he sighed, "I thought that taking frequent breaks would help, but she's not getting much better. I feel bad for her."

"Well, I don't," Sokka snorted, "Do you know how many lectures I've had to hear from her about drinking too much? She's always on her high and mighty ostrich-horse about it so, as far as I'm concerned, she has this coming."

That unsympathetic pronouncement earned him a frosty glower from his brother-in-law. "Wow. You're all heart, Sokka."

"Hey, this isn't even the extent of my diabolical ways." He lowered his voice to the barest whisper so as not to be overheard by Toph. "I happen to know a little something that could cure what ails them. What they need is the hair of the polar-bear dog. It will fix them right up…but personally I think they both deserve to suffer for a while. Toph…because I've been her verbal punching bag all morning and Katara? Well, Katara is just because."

Aang fixed him with a woebegone look. "How do you live with yourself?"

"Do you know who you're talking to right now? I'm the same guy who gleefully cockblocked you and Katara when you two decided to scar me emotionally with your baby-making shenanigans," Sokka replied with a shrug. He took an enthusiastic bite of sea jerky. "I'm an equal opportunity jerkbender, Aang."

Toph's amused laughter floated down to them. "Yeah…those were good times, Sokka," she chuckled, "How many cold dips did Aang take that spring again? Yeah…good times."

"Shouldn't you be unconscious by now, Toph?" Aang grumbled. He heaved a doleful sigh when he heard Katara moaning for him from atop of Appa. He had been at her beck and call all that morning and Aang could see that wasn't going to change anytime soon. "I'd better go check on her," he told Sokka, "I need that cure. We'll stick around here a little while longer so you can mix up it for them."

"What? No way!" Sokka bleated in protest. He lowered his voice to a throbbing hiss. "Aang, I told you that in confidence!"

"I'm not like you. I can't take glee in their misery. I won't let them suffer, Sokka!"

"You're not doing it. _I am_. Just turn a blind eye. It's easy." Aang leveled him with a narrowed gray stare that clearly tolerated no argument. "Fine!" Sokka finally snapped in concession, "Have it your way! Be a goody two shoes! But I'll remember this, Aang. You will rue the day, my friend! Rue it!"

"Just make the remedy, please," Aang sighed wearily as Katara's calls for him became more strident.

Sokka's unhappy grumbling followed him as he made his way back over to Appa and bent himself up into the bison's saddle. Katara was curled in the far corner in the fetal position and whimpering in misery. Aang went to kneel beside her and smoothed a gentle hand over her clammy forehead.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" he whispered.

"Please kill me now," she groaned, "It would be a kindness."

"Sorry. Can't help you there. But Sokka is going to make something up for you and then you'll start to feel better."

"Sokka?" She shuddered. "I don't know if I want to touch that."

"I think it will be okay. He swears by it. Something about a hairy dog…"

Katara shuddered again and this time punctuated it by gagging. "Ugh, I definitely won't touch it then…"

"You should at least try it," Aang urged with an anxious frown, "You look terrible."

"I _feel_ terrible. I'll never drink again," she vowed pitifully, "I promise."

He tried not to smile. "The drinking wasn't so bad. But maybe next time you shouldn't do quite so much of it. You know…moderation and all that." Katara groaned, her stomach lurching with the mere mention of alcohol. Aang wanted to ask her if she still thought that rice wine was "the bestest thing ever," but he wisely thought better of it. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Besides killing me, you mean?"

Once more he had to compress his lips to keep from smiling. "Yeah, besides that."

Katara angled a beseeching look up at him. "Will you lie down with me and hold me?"

Aang weighed his response to that meek request very carefully. Finally, he asked, "Do you feel like you're going to throw up? Because if so, I don't really know if I want to—,"

"Just hold me already!"

Properly chastened, Aang obediently stretched out beside her and gathered her into his arms. "How you doing?" he asked cautiously a moment later, "You feeling okay?"

"Good," she sighed, "Better now with you here."

He started to relax in gradual increments as her breathing slowed and deepened. His fear that she would get sick all over him hadn't abated at all. However, Aang figured that if being in his arms provided Katara with some relief then the risk of being vomited on was definitely worth it. Not exactly the most welcome prospect, but worth it all the same. He brushed a kiss across her forehead. "Sorry you're so miserable, baby."

Katara made a face against the rumpled material of his tunic at the endearment. "Baby? Since when do you call me 'baby?' You _never_ call me that."

"I don't?" he wondered in surprise, "That's funny. I do it in my head all the time." Katara grunted at the admission and to Aang her response didn't sound much like approval. He chuckled. "Should it stay in my head then?"

"Yeah…probably it should." He laughed again and this time Katara smiled with him. Although, she admitted in the most secret part of herself, it didn't sound _that _bad. She even liked it…a little bit. However, because Katara was absolutely unwilling to make that confession aloud, she decided to divulge another secret instead. "For the record, Aang, you should know…I'm not _that_ miserable."

Aang furrowed his brow in confusion. "You're not?"

"Well, I am," Katara amended capriciously, "Right now I feel like death warmed over, but…this _trip_ hasn't been completely miserable. It's had some bright spots."

"But you've been so worried and stressed out about Tenzin."

"I have," she agreed, "and I still am but I haven't been alone. I've support this whole time and from some of the people I care about most in this world. I'm glad that I had this chance to spend with you, Sokka and Toph. I didn't realize how much I had missed us being together this way. It's been nice to have that again."

Aang smiled into her hair. "Yeah, it has, hasn't it?"

"I know that we have our own families and we're busy with our own lives now but I'd like us to hang out more. We shouldn't only come together when there's a calamity."

"Sokka and I have been talking about that very same thing," Aang replied, "We thought that once everything calmed down with the kids, maybe we could get everyone together and go on a family vacation or something. We could head over to Ember Island and spend a week or so with Zuko, Mai and their family. That would be fun."

"But no plays," Katara mumbled, "I've had enough of the Ember Island Players to last a lifetime."

"Definitely no plays," he agreed.

"Can you imagine what a stir we'll cause?" Katara chuckled, amused by the mental image of her entire family, Sokka's entire family and Toph and Lin all showing up on Ember Island simultaneously, "Those poor islanders will think they're being invaded."

"We should do it. I think it will be nice to have the kids altogether again. When was the last time that happened?"

"Last year on Miki's first birthday," Katara sighed, "Not often enough for my taste."

"So you want to do that?" he asked eagerly, "We should probably decide soon so that we can give Kya and Kamik time to make arrangements."

"Yeah," she said with a growing smile, "I want to do that. Let's do it."

Her enthused response caused Aang to tip a surprised glance down at her. He was further surprised to see that she was not only sounding better than she had a few minutes before but looking better as well. "Hey, you're not green anymore," he teased her, "I think we've turned a corner finally. We might not need Sokka's remedy after all."

"I never needed it, Aang," she whispered, snuggling closer, "All I needed was you."

* * *

"Wow, Lin. You look incredible."

She couldn't help but blush in self-conscious reaction over Tenzin's blunt declaration. Only moments before she had been tugging at her deep green gown with gold trim, cursing the gilded slippers that were pinching her feet and lamenting the annoying tendrils of hair framing her face. However, one glance at Tenzin's rapt expression made Lin forget all of that misery. As far back as she could remember he had never looked at her that way in the entire time they had known one another.

His gray eyes were luminous and soft, his mouth slightly agape as he visually drank her in. Self-conscious color bloomed across the ridges of her cheeks. Lin was unnerved by his staring, but she wasn't entirely certain she wanted him to look away either. She liked the effect she was having on him.

In that moment, Lin wasn't even sure he was breathing. Neither was she. Tenzin was simply frozen in place, staring at her as if seeing her for the very first time. Right then Lin couldn't help but feel like the most beautiful girl in the world because that was _exactly_ how he was looking at her…like she was the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen in his life.

Tenzin's unwavering fascination was somewhat daunting but it was a welcome change from the crushing tension that had settled between them following their argument a few days prior. Barely an hour after arriving at the royal palace, Tenzin had dared to broach the unmentionable subject with her: her mother. That misstep had simply been too much for Lin's already frazzled nerves. He had pushed her and she had shut him down. They had been on limited speaking terms ever since.

At first, she'd had a ready excuse for her silence. Soon after their fight they were summoned before the king and allowed to explain their dilemma to him and what had brought them to his great city. Unfortunately, he had no news to offer then on Tenzin's bison. Both Tenzin and Lin had been disappointed and disheartened, feeling as if they had reached a dead end. Lin had wanted to go to Tenzin then and comfort him but pride, anger and fear of rejection kept her rooted in place. In the end, he had grieved alone…and so had she.

The king, on the other hand, seemed impervious to their sorrow. For some unfathomable reason he seemed quite adamant that Oogi would definitely turn up sooner or later. He told Tenzin not to worry because it would "all work out in the end" and that was the extent of the comfort he offered. His insistence on the matter, seemingly based on an astounding lack of logic and evidence, had both Lin and Tenzin ready to label the flighty old man as crazy as his predecessor.

But then he had revealed to Lin that he did indeed know the Zhengs and graciously offered to introduce her to them. He didn't seem quite so crazy to Lin after that. Tenzin continued to have his doubts about the man, but from that moment he had Lin's undivided attention. In a matter of moments her opinion of him had undergone a dramatic shift because he had offered her the thing she wanted most…an opportunity to meet her family.

Their eccentric host had further floored her by suggesting a banquet in the Zhengs' honor so that she could have an excuse to meet them on equal terms. Lin was reeling. The idea of meeting, not only her father, but his parents as well was beyond her wildest imaginings. She had wanted nothing more than to share her joy with Tenzin, but then she remembered that she wasn't talking to him. Consequently, they had spent almost three miserable days in mutual silence. But now with him standing only a few feet away, dressed so handsomely in green and black Earth Kingdom attire with his head cleanly shaven and his expression so open, Lin didn't want to be mad at him anymore.

She swiftly closed the distance between them and flung her arms around his neck. "You're bald again!" she cried, because it was the only thing she could say that wouldn't cause her to burst into tears.

Tenzin grinned into her shoulder. "Well, if I knew that was all it would take to get you to talk to me again I would have shaved my head days ago," he murmured wryly.

"Nah. You should have let _me_ shave it instead. That _definitely_ would have helped."

"Yeah…you're not coming anywhere near my head with a razor."

Lin tried to laugh but the sound escaped her as more of a teary bubble. She squeezed him harder. "I hate not talking to you, Tenzin. I hate it when we fight."

"I hate it too."

She knew he was starting to get antsy in the extended embrace, but she couldn't let him go. Not yet. Not when she had such a tenuous hold on her emotions. If she looked at him now she would likely burst into tears and never stop. And that couldn't happen because Beifongs did _not_ cry. Only when Lin was sure that the threat of tears had passed did she finally release him and take a step back.

"I'm glad we're talking again. I've wanted to tell you this whole time that I was sorry about Oogi," Lin murmured, "I know Omashu was your last hope to find him."

Tenzin shrugged though pain and disappointment lurked in the depths of his eyes. "I didn't really expect to find him here anyway. He's really gone and I'm never going to get him back. The hardest part is knowing that I couldn't protect him."

Since his desire to move on from the subject was obvious in the way he fidgeted and avoided eye contact with her, Lin kindly obliged him. "I'm sorry we fought before, Tenzin," she said, "I know I've been really touchy most of this trip, but you know my mom is a tender subject for me right now."

"I know she is. But I wouldn't be a good friend to you if I didn't press you about it, Lin."

She shook her head, her jaw becoming tight as emotion welled up in her throat once again. "I'm not ready, Tenzin. Please don't push me. I'm not ready."

"Okay," he acquiesced finally, "We won't talk about it. Not tonight anyway."

Lin huffed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Thanks so much for the one day reprieve."

"I'm thinking of you."

"Are you sure that you're not taking just the tiniest bit of satisfaction in the fact that _you're_ the one pushing _me_ into doing something I don't want to do for a change?" she charged him.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that possibility."

"I see right through you, Tenzin." She landed a teasing punch to his forearm before her good humor abruptly faded altogether. "Soo…I'm going to meet my father in a few hours," she began casually.

"Yeah, you are. Are you nervous about it?"

Lin shrugged. "I haven't let myself think about that too much."

"Seriously?" His tone was dubious.

"Well, how can I think about it?" Lin retorted defensively, "I've been on pins and needles expecting our parents to show up any second, but it's been three days without a word from them. You think they decided to go back home and let us do our thing?"

Tenzin pondered that possibility for a moment, vividly imagining his mother's reaction when Ling relayed their parting message to her. "No. It's doubtful. Very, very doubtful."

"So what is taking them so long to show up? The suspense is killing me!"

"I don't know. Maybe they were delayed somehow but I don't doubt for a second that they're coming."

"Great." Lin nibbled her lip in an effort to stifle her mournful groan. "I haven't had a chance to really freak out over this party because I keep wondering when my mother is going to show up to crash it." She moved to stand near the bedroom window, watching with anxious eyes as the first few guests began to arrive. "I don't want her to ruin this for me, Tenzin."

"She's not the enemy, Lin."

The words were whispered, but Lin still whipped around on him as if he had shouted them. "She is tonight! I can't let anything stand in my way. Not even her. This means too much to me."

"So you _are_ nervous," Tenzin surmised softly. He detected the fine trembling in her frame as he got closer to her. "You're shaking."

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm going to meet my father's family tonight. This is what I've been dreaming about since…since I was…" Her words caught on an emotional sob. Lin closed her eyes in a bid for composure and serenity. "I need everything to go right. I need it to be perfect."

"It will be, Lin."

She pinned him with an anxious look full of pleading then. "Promise you'll stay close to me tonight," she bid him, "Don't wander off anywhere. I need you to stay close!"

"Really? You still want me to be with you even after all the fighting we've done?" She nodded her head mutely. "I will. I'll stay close. I promise."

Lin was still holding onto that promise desperately, as well as Tenzin's bloodless fingers, when she stepped into the king's large banquet hall two hours later. It didn't take long before both young people were surrounded by flocks of people once she and Tenzin had been announced. Despite the numerous people vying for her attention and clamoring for even the smallest tidbit on Toph Beifong and Avatar, Lin largely ignored the attention. She craned her neck around them in a desperate effort to catch sight of anyone who even vaguely resembled her.

Her breath was frozen in her chest as she scanned the crowd, but she saw no one. The faces all seemed to blend together for her and no one particularly stood out. Disheartened, she shrank back against Tenzin's side with a glum expression, barely paying attention to the animated conversation going on around her. Occasionally, she would respond with disinterested impatience to a question directed to her, but for the most part Lin was mentally absent. Before long, the milling guests began to ignore her altogether and focus their attention solely on Tenzin.

She wasn't particularly bothered by the change but after about half an hour of making feeble conversation with strangers, Lin had reached her breaking point. As politely as she could, she tugged on Tenzin's sleeve and quietly excused herself from the circle of people surrounding them, pulling him along with her as she did.

"I'm going to get myself some punch," she told him, "I'll be back."

Her blatant need for escape left Tenzin fretting. "Are you okay? Did you see someone familiar? I thought you wanted us to stick together."

"Breathe, Tenzin! I'm only going for a drink, not hiking to the Fire Nation," she reassured him, "Besides, you're in your element right now. You know crowds aren't my thing."

"Those people don't mean anything to me. I'm here tonight to support you, Lin," Tenzin told her, "You don't have to be alone. I can go with you."

She smirked at him. "I'm perfectly capable of getting punch on my own. Stop worrying. Besides, you'll be so busy charming the guests you won't even miss me."

"Lin, don't—,"

"Go have fun, Tenzin," she urged, already pushing him off in the direction of the throng of people approaching them, "I'll only be a few minutes."

Lin ambled before he could argue further, wandering over to the refreshment table and watching from a distance as Tenzin once again fell into easy conversation. For a moment, her thirst was forgotten and she stood there and watched him. She envied the effortless way Tenzin interacted with people. There was no awkwardness or tentativeness to him at all. He was incredibly comfortable in his own skin, incredibly confident in his identity. And, for all his seriousness and somber reasoning, Tenzin was actually quite the social butterfly. He could be very charming and engaging when he wanted to be.

She, on the other hand, was socially awkward and always had been. She was hopelessly bad at small talk, incapable of insincere praise and simply despised inane conversation altogether. If there was nothing to be said of importance, Lin would much rather remain silent. Many people, especially those in her peer group, were put off by her blunt and oftentimes tactless manner. It was little wonder that she didn't have many friends. Only Tenzin seemed unbothered by her manner. In fact, he even seemed to appreciate that about her. He certainly had never tried to change her.

Still, in the most secret part of herself, Lin lamented her inability to be more like him…to be more likeable period. Perhaps then she wouldn't feel a weight of dread settle in her belly whenever she found herself in social situations. Perhaps then she would have more friends. But then, as her gaze connected with Tenzin's from across the room and he smiled at her, Lin abruptly decided that she didn't care about that. Maybe it was enough that she was truly liked by the people that really mattered.

Fortified with that resolve, Lin went to pour herself some refreshment and afterwards began to make the rounds of the party, hoping to catch a glimpse of their elusive host so that he could introduce her to the Zhengs. To her frustration, Omashu's king seemed conspicuously absent from his own party and no one seemed to know where he had gone. Annoyed, Lin started to turn on her heel and head back over to Tenzin when she caught the faint strains of an argument.

Frowning, she drifted closer to the open doors that lead out onto the balcony, her attention captured by the tension and strain in the voices she heard. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Tenzin scolding her for eavesdropping so shamelessly but Lin felt that she had a good reason. Yes, the argument was heated and growing progressively louder but even more significant than that, Lin's ears perked with interest at the utterance of a familiar name. _Qi Xing._

"…why do you even want me here at all?" a man was ranting in a furious underbreath to the well-dressed couple standing before him, "I don't care about anyone here and I definitely don't care that the King of Omashu wants to 'honor' you! I'm obviously an embarrassment to you both! You've said so a hundred times before! I dishonor our family name! This is a waste of your time and mine!"

Lin couldn't make out any of their faces because they were cloaked in shadow, but she could tell from the tense lines of their body that the quarrel had been going on for some time now and it was beginning to escalate. The younger man faced the couple with a drink in one hand and a bottle in another. His words were slightly slurred, pointing to the fact that he was probably also slightly drunk. It was a fact that seemed to disgust the older man and that was evident in his next words.

"Perhaps we would have left you at home to spare ourselves the shame of being seen with you if we could trust that you wouldn't pilfer the silver in our absence!" the gray-haired man intoned, "If you are an embarrassment, Qi Xing, it is because _you_ brought it on yourself!"

"Then I'll leave!" the younger man threw back, "I've done it before and I'm not afraid to do it again! There's nothing keeping me here!"

The older man scoffed. "Nothing except food and shelter! You need us! You have nowhere else to go!"

"That's never stopped me before, Father!"

"Qi Xing, no!" the woman cried, clearly on the verge of tears, "You don't have to leave! Please, please don't do that." She turned to address her companion in a desperate manner. "Guiren, don't fight with him! He only just returned to us! I don't want to lose my son again!"

"Biyu, what are you losing exactly?" Guiren cried, "Open your eyes! He is a disgrace and a wastrel! Let him go if he wants to go! We'd be better off!"

"No, please…" Biyu pleaded, "Please…he is all we have left, Guiren! Don't drive him away!"

"Please, Mother," Qi Xing snorted, "You're not doing me or yourself any favors by begging him! Have some pride! You dishonor yourself!"

"What have I done to make you despise me so, Qi Xing?" his mother wept, "Why do you say such cruel things?"

"The irony is that you really don't know," Qi Xing scoffed derisively.

His mother extended a beseeching hand towards him. "I sincerely want to repair this rift between us. Why won't you allow it?"

"You know why! I'm not him, Mother!" Qi Xing spat, "I'm not your precious one! No matter how tightly you pinch your eyes shut and hope and wish, I will _never_ be my brother! He is dead and _this_ is who I am! I won't be your consolation prize!"

"Enough! Don't you dare talk to your mother that way!" Guiren snapped, "She doesn't deserve it."

"Then take her out of here," Qi Xing replied in a cold tone, "and let me enjoy my drink in peace!"

"You're not unloved, Qi Xing," his father uttered in parting shot, "You never have been. You _drive_ people away."

Lin quickly ducked behind some nearby drapery as the man and his weeping wife swept past her. She got only the briefest glimpse of their faces as they rushed away, but when she did she could swear that she saw herself in them. Somewhere in the logical recesses of her brain Lin considered that she was only seeing what she wanted to see. However, her heart, which had taken control only moments after she heard the name Qi Xing, had already convinced her that she had found her family.

The certainty was powerful. Lin's breath rattled in her chest in painful wheezes as she watched the man lead his wife to a solitary place so that she could regain her composure. She wanted to go after them, but she was almost certain that they would be unable to give her the answers she sought. They wouldn't be able to fill up the empty places inside her heart. Only one person could do that. The man on the balcony.

She couldn't get her answers from the older couple because they didn't have them, but she was certain that the man did. He was the one she had to confront. However, Lin was a bit leery of approaching him because he was drunk and surly and he had rejected his own parents. What certainty could she have that he wouldn't reject her also? Yet, in spite of that fear, something instinctive compelled her to slip from her hiding place and creep out onto the balcony to join him.

He didn't hear her approach, but appeared lost in thought. He was slumped over the stone banister with his back to her and his face turned towards the moon. His dark hair was long and loose and falling across his back in disarray. He consumed his liquor absently, almost as if he took no joy in doing it at all, but simply drank because there was nothing better to do. Lin had only the barest view of his profile, but she could see even from a distance that he looked lonely and miserable.

Her first instinct was to turn on her heel and leave as silently as she had arrived, but Lin squelched the impulse. That was a coward's way and she wasn't a coward. Her second instinct was to scrap the whole plan because it was clear that this was not going to be the happy reunion that she had envisioned, but she didn't do that either. Instead, she remained rooted in place and gathered her courage. Good consequences or bad, she was going to stay and finish this thing out to the end. She had traveled too far and endured too much not to.

"Excuse me?" she began in a shaky voice. He stiffened at the sound of her voice and slowly straightened. Once again, Lin had to stamp down the impulse to run. "Excuse me, sir…are you Qi Xing Zheng?"

His heavy snort of exasperation let Lin know that he didn't welcome her interruption in the least. He didn't even bother to turn and face her. "I am. Who wants to know?" he grunted in evident disinterest.

Lin swallowed hard, took the deepest breath she could and somehow found the courage to voice the words that felt like they were lodged in her throat. "Lin Beifong. I'm your daughter."


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

"You look like your mother."

They were the first words of greeting he uttered to her when he finally turned around to face her. It was the first unobstructed view Lin had of his features. If there had been any traces of doubt in her that the man before her was her father they were eradicated in that moment. She could clearly see herself in his finely chiseled features. Lin took a moment to drink everything in, from his wide set, deep green eyes to his neatly trimmed beard. Once the shock of seeing his face wore off, however, Lin began to puzzle over _his_ marked lack of shock and dismay.

Lin didn't know what she had expected but she hadn't quite expected that. Not the calm observation that she resembled her mother and certainly not his apathetic demeanor. He didn't explode with emotion, didn't blurt out strident denials. Instead, he seemed almost…detached in his response, unaffected. While every muscle in her body was trembling uncontrollably, he stood with his head cocked to one side and his brow knit in a small frown as he dissected her features. It was certainly not the way Lin expected a man to react when he had just discovered he had a preteen daughter.

Unaware of Lin's racing thoughts, Qi Xing gradually closed the distance between them. "You're beautiful like her…like your mother," he murmured softly before raising his drink to his lips briefly, "Not that she ever knew it. I used to think it was wasted on her." He dropped his head forward as a belated realization settled on him. "They announced you before, didn't they? Beifong?" He turned the name over on his tongue. "That's right. I thought that name sounded familiar."

"Are…aren't you shocked that I'm here?" Lin stammered in discomfiture.

"Well, I never figured you'd find me or even would want to that's for sure," he snorted. He angled an expectant look around her. "Is your mother here with you? Is this her idea?" Lin shook her head. "You came alone?" She jerked a nod of affirmation. "Seriously? You came all the way from Republic City to Omashu on your own?"

"My friend…he came with me…" Lin explained absently, "It took us a long time to find you."

Qi Xing grimaced at the admission. "How did you find me at all?"

"A lot of hard work," she replied, trying not to be too disappointed that he didn't stride forward and scoop her into his arms. So far the reunion wasn't going anything like Lin had imagined it would. "You're a difficult man to find."

He raised his glass to his lips. "And yet somehow you never considered that maybe I didn't _want_ to be found?" Lin was still foundering for a response to that grumbled observation when he added, "Still…that's pretty impressive for a little kid. You've got some guts, I'll say that for you. What are you? Ten? Eleven years old? I know it's been at least that long since Toph and I were together."

"I'm twelve," she whispered, "I turned twelve a few days ago." She could barely formulate her answers to him because she was too busy grappling with the unexpected reality that he already knew of her existence…and he didn't seem to care. Surely, she had to be mistaken. Lin needed to ask to be sure. "Are you… Did you…did you know about me already?"

"Yeah, I knew…I knew…" Qi Xing answered with some hesitation, "…I knew that Toph had a kid and she thought that maybe…well… Your mom and I weren't really exclusive or anything. It was only a fling. You could have been anyone's kid for all I knew."

The words were like a battering blow to the chest. Lin was surprised they didn't knock her down. She stood there before him, confused and hurting so deeply she felt like she was choking on it. Her thoughts were running through her mind as dizzying speeds while her heart screamed at her incessantly that she had made a huge mistake. She wanted to go, wanted to run but her feet remained anchored in place.

"But…didn't you ever want to know for sure?" she asked him in a meek tone, "Didn't you wonder about me? Why didn't you ever come to see me just…just to see me for yourself?"

As Lin spoke, the more emotional she became, the more withdrawn Qi Xing became. By the time she was done, he appeared positively annoyed and quite eager to end the conversation. "Look…uh…Lin… That's your name, right?" Again she managed a stiff nod. "Lin, you seem like a good kid and I appreciate your determination to find me and everything, but I'm sure your mom explained to you that I was never all that interested in doing the family thing with her. You really wasted your time with this."

"What?"

"I'm not cut out to be a father, sweetheart." He spread his arms wide with a self-deprecating laugh. "I mean, look at me. I live at home with my parents. I don't do much of anything. I can barely take care of myself! What am I going to do with a kid?"

"But you're my father," Lin insisted in a small, devastated voice, "You are. Don't you care?"

"Is that what Toph told you? Because you know…she was kind of desperate at the end there. She had a real hard time letting go. It was kind of sad."

Lin flinched, first with anguish and then with disgust and rage. "My mom is not desperate!" she spat, "You have no right to insult her! She's strong and she's smart and the best thing she ever did was keep me away from you!"

Qi Xing took a long draught from the bottle in his hand, seemingly unaffected by her harsh retort. If anything, he seemed amused by her anger. "Yeah, you're Toph's alright. You've got a lot of fire. Definitely like your mother."

Jaw tight, Lin lifted her chin proudly. "I take that as a compliment."

"I'm not surprised that you would." Refusing to be disarmed by that ambiguous reply, Lin continued to hold herself stiff before him, her tiny fists balled at her sides as if she were spoiling for a fight. Qi Xing sighed. "Tell me something…if you're so sure that your mother was right about me then what are you doing here?" he challenged, "What do you want from me exactly?"

"I traveled all this way to meet you. I thought I wanted to know you," Lin choked, "I thought you might want to know me."

Qi Xing expelled a low, ragged groan of consternation when he spied the welling tears in her eyes. "Aww, come on! Don't do that! Don't tell me you came all this way looking for a father, kid! That's not me! I don't have the patience, the time or the desire!"

"I'm not asking for anything from you!"

"Aren't you?" he accused stridently, "You came from out of nowhere and now you're putting all this…this _pressure_ on me! I mean…what happened to that…that guy, huh? He said that he would take care of you! Where did he go? Did he run out on your mom too? She sure does drive them away in droves, doesn't she?"

Lin ignored the thoughtless barbs, though they ignited the burning embers of her temper and instead focused on one particular phrase. "What guy?"

"I don't know…some Water Tribe guy…said he was a friend of your mother's. Showed up at my door telling me I need to 'step up.' I told him I wasn't interested and that if he wanted the job then it was all his!" He stabbed his finger indignantly in Lin's direction. "He's the one who asked to be your father! He's the one who was willing to step up and assume responsibility for you, so if you've got some daddy issues you need to take them up with him!"

_Sokka._ Lin groaned inwardly as the realization dawned. He had been there in front of her the entire time. He had been the one to teach her how to fish, how to hunt and how to laugh at herself. He had been the one to scold her when she was bad and reward her when she was good. He had dried her tears and kissed her booboos. He had chased away the clinging shadows that lurked in her closet at night and taught her what it meant to be brave. He had taught her right from wrong. Sokka was _her_ father and he always had been…in all the ways that mattered, in every way that counted.

Lin had never recognized that before. She had been so consumed with what she _didn't_ have that she never let herself see what she _did _have. Instead, she had spent the bulk of her life chasing the phantom of a man she had made up in her mind while the real thing…the thing that she wanted…had been right beside her.

She swallowed back the burning tears that rose in her throat, recognizing then that she had essentially wasted the last few years of her life. "I made a big mistake coming here," she mumbled.

As she started to turn away, however, Qi Xing said, "Hey, don't you put this on me, little girl! Don't you blame me! I never asked for you and I never wanted to be a father!"

Lin whipped back to face him, her rage finally boiling over. "My mother didn't ask for me either!" she blazed, "But she's been there for me and she cares about me and she's always given me what I needed! _She_ stepped up when you wouldn't! You're a coward! You're not only a lousy father you're a lousy human being too! Your father was right about you! You _are_ a disgrace!"

He flinched with emotion for the first time, visibly stung by the charge. "You think you have all the answers?" he scoffed bitterly, "Believe me, you don't! I'm doing you a favor, kid! Having a father isn't all it's cracked up to be! Trust me! I'd give mine away in a heartbeat!"

"Maybe the problem isn't him! Maybe it's _you_!"

"No, the problem is that some people should _never_ be parents!" he retorted, "My father is one of those people! You don't tell a ten year old boy that he should have died in his brother's place! That's my doting, dear old dad for you!" Lin winced in reaction, but Qi Xing reacted to that with little more than a cold smirk. "Fortunately, I had a mother who was good enough to stand by and let it happen. Although, I will give her credit for _attempting_ to dry my tears once he was finished with his verbal abuse."

"It's easy to blame your mistakes on your father," Lin muttered, "But my mom taught me that blaming others is a coward's way."

"Did your mom also teach you the importance of being honest with yourself," he retorted derisively, "or did she skip that lesson? Because, you know, Toph and I aren't so different. In fact, that's what drew us together. I have no doubts that I am my father's son in every way, just like your mother is her father's daughter. She and I are _both_ incapable of being good parents! Who knows? Maybe it's genetic. But the difference between your mother and me is that _I_ know what I am! I'm _honest_ with myself! I know I'm not fit to raise a child and I'm not going to try! Toph might be willing to lie to herself and screw you up in the process, but I'm not going to do it!"

"So I'm supposed to think that you're saving me?" Lin snorted in teary disbelief, "That you're being noble or something?"

"Trust me, kid. This is probably going to be the best gift that I can ever give you," he uttered, "Don't you think it's better that I tell you now that I don't want to be your father because I don't have it in me than to fool myself _and you_ into thinking I can do it? I already know I'm going to fail so why try at all?" He knelt down before her so that they were eye to eye when he whispered, "If you want some really good advice…don't ever have children. Between your mother and me, you'll only damage them in the end. Look at us. I've already damaged you and you've only been here five minutes. I wasn't even trying."

Lin shook her head at him, tears beginning to slip down her cheeks as she regarded him with haunted green eyes. "All I wanted to do was meet you…to know you… I never expected anything…"

He smirked at her, a sad little smile that was a curious mixture of amusement…and remorse. "We both know that's a lie. You expect _everything_ and that's the problem…because I can't give it to you. You're better off not knowing me at all."

"But don't _you_ want to know _me_?" Lin asked in a trembling whisper, despite her earlier resolve to walk away from him, "Don't you even want to try?"

"I'm going to give you the courtesy that I didn't give your mother," he said, "I'm going to tell you truth. No. I don't. I don't ever want to see you again. Don't ever come after me again. Do you understand?"

Lin tried to nod, tried to maintain her composure and walk away from him with some of her dignity left intact. Yet, in the end, a sob bubbled past her lips and turned on her heel to run out of there, her tears blinding her so thoroughly that she flew right past Tenzin without even noticing him. He watched her go with a mournful stare before turning to face the man who had caused her pain with a hate-filled glower.

When Qi Xing would have raised his wine bottle to his lips again, Tenzin blasted the decanter from his hand and sent it sailing over the top of the banister. Qi Xing reacted with a growling curse before pivoting to regard Tenzin with doleful eyes. "Really? Was that necessary?"

"That was my friend you just destroyed a moment ago," he informed Qi Xing in a throbbing whisper, "How could you do that to a 12 year old girl? Her only crime was that she wanted to know you…to love you!" Tenzin raked him with a disgusted once-over. "You're not a man. You're not anything. I know Lin thinks she lost something valuable tonight, but eventually she'll realize the truth and she'll move on from this. But _you_? You _have_ lost something valuable and I hope you never forget it!"

He didn't give Qi Xing the opportunity to respond to those biting words, but instead swiftly spun on his heel and took off to search for Lin.

* * *

They weren't at all dressed for a party, but that didn't stop Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph from strutting into the king's banquet hall like they owned the place. The four were dusty, travel weary and more than a bit disheveled and yet in spite of that they held themselves with unmistakable presence and command. It didn't matter that they were in the king's company. That wasn't the reason they captured the rapt attention of everyone present. The fascination they stirred up among the crowd was solely due to _them_. They were legends, talked about the entire world over and a spectacle in their own right.

Low murmurs of recognition and excited whispers of "it's the Avatar…Sokka and Katara of the Southern WaterTribe…Toph Beifong…" began to resound throughout the throng as the group shifted their way through the congregation of people. The gang barely registered the commotion they were causing, however. They were fixed on one collective goal: finding their children. Only half aware of the people vying for their attention right then, the four scanned the faces surrounding them for a glimpse of Tenzin and Lin.

When he failed to spot them anywhere, Aang turned an anxious glance towards the king of Omashu. "I thought you said they were here tonight."

"Of course they're here," the king huffed a little defensively, "I did exactly what you requested in your message. I even went the extra mile to plan this event with them in mind!"

"And we thank you for your consideration," Katara inserted smoothly before Toph could pop off a smart reply, "Forgive us if we're a little short-tempered. It's been a long few weeks."

The king smiled. "I understand. Teenagers can be difficult…or so I've been told."

"So where are they?" Sokka pressed him.

"I'm sure that we'll find them in the company of my honorary guests, the Zhengs, since Chief Beifong's daughter was quite adamant about meeting them."

Toph snapped to attention, her entire focus narrowed on the king. "The Zhengs? The Zhengs are here right now?"

"Yes," the king confirmed, "This celebration was thrown in their behalf."

For a second, Toph felt as if her head might explode off her neck and go sailing off into orbit. She had entertained a dozen worst scenarios in her head during their journey to Omashu and _that_ was definitely one of them. It took a considerable amount of self-control but she managed to check her temper. "By any slim chance…is it possible that their son _isn't_ in attendance tonight?"

"Actually, I believe that he may be…they did arrive with a young man this evening." With that, Toph's bid for patience ended in dismal failure. She bit out a sizzling curse in response. The king blinked at her owlishly, quite uncomfortable with the rage bristling from the blind earthbender. "Is that a problem?"

"Yeah…" Toph replied shortly, "You could say it's a huge problem!" She took several deep breaths, hoping to slow her suddenly racing pulse. Unfortunately there was little she could do to quell the panic suddenly expanding in her chest. "I don't believe this. What are the odds of _that lying scumbag_ actually being Omashu at all, let alone here at this party tonight? Does the Universe _hate_ me?"

Sokka placed a calming hand against her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he murmured close to her ear, "I know you weren't expecting that."

"No, I'm not okay," Toph huffed, her tone frazzled and impatient, "But it doesn't matter right now. The damage is done! Let's just find Lin and Tenzin so I can straighten out this whole mess with her before it gets any worse!" She started to take a breath and lift her foot to search the premises with her unique sight when the sound of her own name halted her execution.

Toph lurched around, startled and exasperated to detect her parents standing less than ten feet away from her. Although it had been years since she had been in contact with them, the distinct vibrations they set off, both in the earth and her heart were not easily forgotten. She groaned inwardly. "And it just got worse."

"Hello, Toph," Lao Beifong greeted his estranged daughter awkwardly. The elder Beifong was plainly fighting back the desire to step forward and embrace Toph, but he hesitated, mostly because he suspected she would reject him if he made the attempt. "It's been a long time. Too long."

Toph could have seriously disputed that, but she was aware of the plethora of listening ears surrounding them. She didn't want to make a scene, not when she had much more pressing matters on her mind. Still, she couldn't quite stop herself from demanding rather brusquely, "What are you doing here?"

Lao winced at her abrupt tone. He hadn't expected her to be overjoyed to see them but he had hoped she wouldn't be entirely hostile either. He couldn't quite swallow his disappointment over that fact. "After ten years that's _all_ you have to say to us?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Hello. How are you?" her father suggested gruffly, "Those would be nice. And if you can't manage a few polite exchanges with your parents, then an explanation as to why you're here in Omashu would certainly suffice."

Toph crossed her arms defensively. "You first."

Her father sighed, obviously exasperated with her willful retort. However, he surprised her by yielding to her demand without any protest. "Your mother and I are vacationing here in Omashu," he explained, "We were invited as guests to tonight's banquet."

"We never expected to see you here tonight at all," Poppy added softly, "But then we heard Lin announced earlier and we had hoped…"

"We hoped we might see you," Lao finished softly. Toph went perfectly still as her father murmured, "Lin has grown up to be a very beautiful young woman, Toph. You should be proud."

"That's rather ironic coming from you since you were expecting me to ruin her completely."

"That's not true," Lao denied.

His daughter responded to that with a dubious snort. "I believe your exact words were 'I'm concerned about your ability to bring Lin up properly, Toph.' You wanted to take her away from me! Does that conversation ring a bell for you at all? Do you remember what you said because I certainly haven't forgotten?"

"We were concerned about her safety and yours!" her mother blurted fervidly, "Your life is very dangerous, Toph! She's our grandchild! We wanted to protect her!"

"You didn't think I was capable of taking care of my own kid, of keeping her safe!" she spat out in accusation, "Do you have any idea what that _did_ to me? Why wouldn't I be offended by that?"

Realizing that she was alienating Toph further when it was the last thing that she wanted, Poppy extended an imploring hand towards her daughter. "Listen to me, Toph. Everything we said to you that day we said because we love you and we love Lin…so much. We wanted to help you. If you would only let us explain…"

Toph was already shaking her head before Poppy had finished making the request. "You wanted to keep her in a box like you kept me in a box…and that was _never_ going to happen."

Lao stepped forward, daring to reach out and touch Toph's forearm only to have her jerk out from under his hand. He reluctantly dropped it back against his side. "All we're asking for is the chance to make it right with you," he whispered, "We miss you, Toph. We love you."

"I can't do this with you right now," Toph said, "This isn't a social call for me. My friends and I are here on business and there are things we need to do."

Katara scooted closer then, hoping to diffuse the situation by changing the subject while also gathering information on Lin and Tenzin's whereabouts. "You said that you saw Lin earlier," she prompted the Beifongs, "Where was that exactly? Was she with anyone?"

"She's was standing only a few feet from where we are now," Lao said, "We weren't able to get very close to her tonight because there was a crowd around her and the boy who accompanied her."

"Not that it would have mattered if we had gotten close," Poppy interjected sadly, "She wouldn't have recognized us. We haven't seen her since she was almost two years old."

"Did you see her talking to anyone in particular…a gentleman perhaps?" Sokka inserted quickly, hoping to circumvent Toph's acid retort.

Poppy shook her head. "We mostly saw her with the boy," she nodded towards Aang and Katara, "…your son, I presume." When they nodded confirmation she said, "Whenever we saw Lin, they were together. The two of them seem very close. I wish we'd had the opportunity to meet him…and her as well."

Toph's features became positively stony with the tacit rebuke. "If your intention is to guilt trip me, Mother, I really don't have the time for it. You know exactly why you're not in Lin's life so don't please don't put on this martyred act!"

"That's what I'm doing at all!" Poppy cried, seemingly oblivious to the audience they were gathering as their quarrel escalated, "Can't you see that we're hurting? Don't you care? We only want the opportunity to talk to you, Toph! Won't you give us that much?"

Before she could open her mouth to refuse them outright, Aang nudged her elbow. "Why don't you stay here with them?" he suggested quietly, "Sokka, Katara and I can find the kids on our own."

"No, Aang," Toph hissed, "This isn't why I came to Omashu! My parents and I have said all that we needed to say to each other years ago. It's done." She started to turn away, giving her friends little option except to follow her, but her father's answering retort stopped her dead in her tracks.

"You're still doing it, Toph. You don't like our feelings on a matter or you don't agree with our opinions and so you run," Lao accused her stiffly, "You accuse us of treating you like a child, of not respecting you as an adult and yet, here you are…still acting like the twelve year old girl you were when you ran away from home!"

The allegation stung and for more reasons than Lao Beifong could have possibly imagined. Toph wanted to defend herself, she wanted to throw in her father's face all the many ways he had smothered and stifled her. She wanted to blame him. She wanted to throw out accusations that _he_ was the one who had driven her away…that he'd left her with no choice except to run, but she couldn't force the words past her lips. Toph couldn't make that argument…not when she was sure she'd be hearing a variation of the same thing from her own child very soon.

She pivoted slowly to face her father, prepared to humble herself and beg him to table the discussion for another time because she simply didn't have the ammunition to fight him. But she never made it that far. A chill shivered down her spine as yet another familiar presence prickled her senses. Only her reaction to this one was a great deal more volatile than the one she'd had to her parents.

Toph whipped around with a feral growl of pure fury. "You have some real nerve coming within a five foot radius of me, Qi Xing!"

Sokka wisely nudged Aang and Katara aside with an alarmed mutter. "This is _not_ going to be good."

Qi Xing, however, merely smiled at Toph's implied threat. "Hello to you, Toph," he greeted smoothly, "Big party, small world."

She hated that, despite the reality that it had been more than a decade since she had been in Qi Xing's presence, the hurt and anger he had caused her easily battered the carefully constructed wall of indifference she'd built around her heart. Toph felt emotionally naked, utterly vulnerable. Suddenly, she was transported right back into her early thirties and the memory of how she had fallen for his lies filled her with burning humiliation. However, she was determined not to show it. Although she was a quagmire of panic and confusion on the inside, Toph remained cool and collected on the outside.

"What do you want, Qi Xing?" she demanded impatiently.

"Still bitter, I see."

"And you're still stupid! Recognize my restraint and get to the point!"

"Hmm…the point," he considered mildly, "Then I suppose a better question would be what do _you_ want? Or, more specifically, _who_ do you want?"

The ground rumbled ominously beneath Toph's bare feet. "Enough with the games! I know Lin found you so tell me where she is!"

Qi Xing regarded her thoughtfully, obviously in no hurry to provide her with answers. "She's a very pretty little girl. She's brave. Willful. Definitely mouthy," he remarked with a casual air, "She reminds me a lot of you, Toph. She looks like you too…and me. I wasn't prepared for that."

"Does any of this have a point?" Toph seethed, "We both know that you couldn't care less!"

During their less than cordial exchange, Toph's parents had been desperately following the conversation while Sokka, Aang and Katara cringed from behind while alternately searching the crowd for the children. Lao Beifong, however, was completely focused on this newcomer whom his daughter called "Qi Xing." He suspected that he was looking at the long mysterious father of his granddaughter, but he was absolutely certain of that following Qi Xing's last statement to Toph.

"Is this him?" Lao demanded in a terse whisper, "Is this the man who dishonored you, Toph?"

The question left Toph groaning and her friends surreptitiously excusing themselves from the unfolding drama. "Dad, really…" she huffed with thinly veiled patience, "…it's a little late for this, don't you think?"

But the argument was futile. Her father proceeded on as if she hadn't spoken at all. He faced Qi Xing squarely and jabbed his finger directly to the center of the man's chest. "You, sir, are a scoundrel and a liar! You deceived my daughter! You shamed her! And you abandoned your family! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Qi Xing angled a glance around Lao at Toph. "Would you like to call off your watchdog now?"

Toph folded her arms. "I'm actually very interested to hear your answers to that."

"Oh please! Don't act so wounded! You already know my answers! I never made any promises to you!"

"I'm not wounded, you miserable idiot! I'm confused. If you didn't want something serious why didn't you make that clear from the beginning? Why did you act like you wanted something more?"

He answered with a careless shrug. "I thought I did."

"Liar!" Toph snorted, "I can sense the deceit in you now, Qi Xing! I was a game to you back then just like Lin is a game to you now! I don't know what I ever found worthwhile in you. You're a sniveling coward!"

"I'm not a coward! I'm a realist. You should appreciate that. I thought you did but you're as idealistic as the rest of them!" He shrank back to regard Lao Beifong with an annoyed glower. "Listen, I have no quarrel with you. This is between me and Toph. It really doesn't concern you at all."

"Toph is my daughter! Lin is my granddaughter! _Everything_ about them concerns me!" Lao snapped, "Now you will answer for what you've done!"

While there was a definite part of Toph that was annoyed by her father's overprotective bit, especially when there had been minimal contact between them for more than ten years, there was also a part of her that was strangely endeared by his desire to fight her battles. She didn't need him to do it at all. Toph had the ability and the desire to readily dispatch Qi Xing whenever the mood struck her. Still, it was nice to have her father defend her honor, to demand respect in her name. Lao Beifong might very well be controlling, haughty and stubborn, but he loved her. Despite all of his faults and the many ways he had disappointed and angered her, Toph never doubted that at all.

"I told the girl and I'll tell you the same thing," Qi Xing bit out in exasperation, "I have no interest in being a father or being a family man! I don't even know why she bothered looking for me at all! It was a waste of her time and mine. The best gift I could give her was to be honest about that, so I was honest and I told her that I wanted nothing to do with her. She ran away after that and I haven't seen her since."

Toph became tense with fury. "What? You told her that she was wasting your time…that you didn't want her? This little girl who traveled half the Earth Kingdom to find you and that's what you tell her?" she hissed in a burning whisper, "You heartless son of b—,"

"No, Toph!" Poppy cried, making a desperate grab for her daughter when Toph would have brutally earthspiked Qi Xing across the room in preface to beating him senseless, "You're a lady and a Beifong! This filth is not worth sacrificing your dignity! You have given him enough!"

"Mom, let me go!"

"Your mother is right, Toph," Lao agreed, "I will not allow you to compromise yourself for this disgraceful man any longer. It is finished. You are _my_ daughter and you are above that. However," he added before Toph could open her mouth to argue, "that does not mean that _I_ am."

Toph had only a split second to discern her father's intentions before Lao Beifong drew back his fist and landed a powerful punch dead center in Qi Xing Zheng's face. There was a moment of comical silence before the younger man crumpled to the floor like falling debris. After that, chaos ensued. While the guests became stirred up into a frenzy following the shocking display and Lao nursed his bruised knuckles, his daughter stepped forward to survey his handiwork with a small smirk. If she wasn't astounded enough that her father had just punched a man's lights out then Toph was most definitely floored when her mother cheered and then landed a kick to the prone man for good measure.

"Wow, Dad…" she uttered in a dumbfounded tone, "…I didn't know you had it in you to be a brawler."

Lao threw her a look that was a mixture of pride, discomfiture and satisfaction. "Quite frankly, neither did I. For the record, Toph, such behavior is extremely undignified."

"But he deserved it," Poppy Beifong declared without a hint of regret.

A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Lao's mouth. "Oh yes, my dear, he did."

Katara materialized at his side then, bending a curling tendril of healing water from the skin at her flank. "Let me take care of that for you, Mr. Beifong." The skin across his knuckles was abraded and inflamed but not broken. It took only a few healing passes with Katara's water to reduce the swelling and ease his pain.

He accepted her kindness with a stiff nod. "Thank you very much…for the healing and for supporting my daughter all of these years."

"She's been a support to me as well," Katara murmured, "I know she may not always make decisions that you approve of, but Toph is one of the best people I know, Mr. Beifong…one of the best _parents_ I know and it would be a shame for you not to get to know her better. The _real_ her."

"Dad…I know we need to talk," Toph said haltingly, "and I'm willing to do that. I am. But right now I have to find Lin. She's hurting and I have to fix it."

Just then Sokka and Aang came skidding to their side, visibly excited and out of breath. "We think they might be in the garden! We wanted to come back for you before we went to investigate," Sokka said, only to stop short when he caught sight of an unconscious Qi Xing on the floor, "Er…what exactly happened here?"

"Forget about him, Sokka!" Katara flashed back dismissively, "How do you know the kids are in the garden?"

"I sensed a presence out there…two people over near the pond," Aang explained, "I'm almost 100% sure it's them."

"Then what are we waiting for? Come on!" Toph cried, already taking off towards the exit, "Let's go get our kids!"

As Aang, Katara and the Beifongs rushed after her, Sokka tipped a dubious glance down at a sprawled and forgotten Qi Xing. "So no one's going to do anything about the unconscious guy on the floor?" Unsurprisingly, he received no answer for that. His friends were already out the door. Sokka shrugged and finally followed. "Well okay…just thought I'd ask."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

"Are you going to tell me what happened out there?"

Lin gripped the stony edge of the bench on which she sat harder, fighting with everything she had to maintain her composure in front of Tenzin. Her slender frame trembled with the effort. She didn't want to cry, was determined _not_ to cry, but the sobs rattled noisily in her chest, waiting to burst forth. She kept her lips pressed tight to hold them back. It wasn't so much the pain of being so unapologetically rejected by her biological father, although that was agonizing enough, but also the realization of how naïve and stupid she had been.

It was exactly as Qi Xing had said. She had wasted her time. She had wasted Tenzin's time. And what was worse, she was the reason he'd lost his beloved bison and had spent literal weeks away from his home and family. It had all been for nothing. Guilt and shame lashed at her in punishing blows. Lin couldn't even look him in the eye right then. His worried compassion for her only made her feel worse.

"Go away, Tenzin," she mumbled thickly, "I want to be alone."

His reaction to that edict was soft yet emphatic. "No. I can't do that. You shouldn't be alone right now, Lin. I'm not going to leave you."

She averted her face and bit down on her lips hard. "Please go away… Haven't I been humiliated enough for one night?"

"What did he say to you?" Tenzin whispered, "I only heard the tail end of it and…well, it wasn't good."

"None of it was good," Lin choked.

She didn't elaborate further, which prompted Tenzin to give her a gentle nudge. "Tell me what happened," he urged her softly. "I want to help you, Lin. Please, let me."

Lin shook her head, unable to imagine that she could be helped at all. She definitely couldn't fathom that _talking_ about it would alleviate her pain either. There was an expanding void in her chest where her heart used to be. She felt like everything she had ever believed about her life and about herself had been turned upside down and now nothing was true. Nothing made sense anymore. The pain was incredible. Lin wanted nothing more than to run and hide, an impulse that had been foreign to her before that night. The knowledge served only to increase her shame.

Understandably then, the last thing Lin wanted to do was talk about it. She didn't want to admit aloud how foolish she had been. She didn't want to repeat the heartless things Qi Xing had said to her. She didn't want to think about them and yet, in a morbid twist of irony, those callous words were _all_ she could think about. They echoed in her brain over and over again, taunting her, reverberating with the inescapable refrain that she was no good. She was unwanted. She was a burden.

It was the lowest that Lin had ever felt in her life. No amount of schoolyard teasing or heartless bullying could compare to the lonely despair she felt right then. Yet, as much as she wanted to climb inside of herself and never emerge again, Lin also felt inundated with the strong need to unburden herself. Tenzin's presence only heightened that desire. He stooped there, loyal, compassionate, ready, accepting and completely willing to listen to her and to reassure her. He had always been there, but she was terrified to let herself believe that he would always _be_ there…not after what she had endured that night.

In spite of those pervasive doubts, Lin forced herself to look at him. There was no judgment or rancor in his earnest gray stare, only kindness and concern. He wanted to help her. In that lonely, broken moment, Lin wanted to believe that he could.

As if he sensed her internal wavering, Tenzin prodded softly, "Tell me. The pain will only get worse if you keep it inside. If you talk about it then it won't hurt as much as before. I promise you."

Lin didn't know if that was true. She couldn't imagine hurting worse than she already did, but she certainly didn't want to take the chance either. Besides, Tenzin had always been wise and knowledgeable about these sorts of things and if he thought that talking about her feelings would help then Lin supposed there was some merit to it. Consequently, she found herself opening up to him even as she dreaded saying the words at all.

She struggled to push the words past her lips because throat was closing with emotion, but after several fitful starts Lin succeeded. "It's simple really. He doesn't want me. He never did."

Thankfully, Tenzin didn't press her for details. Instead, he leaned into her shoulder and lifted his hand to stroke her rigid back. "I'm so sorry, Lin. I know you were hoping for something else."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry, Tenzin," she whispered woodenly, "I'm sorry that I dragged you along on this trip. I'm sorry that I made you lie for me. I'm sorry that you lost Oogi because I was so selfish and stupid."

"Don't say that. You weren't stupid."

"Yes, I was," she choked, dropping her watery eyes to her lap, "I thought things would be different if I had father. I thought I would feel differently…but I don't. I'm still me and I'm still alone. I'll always be alone."

"You're not alone, Lin. I'm right here." When she still wouldn't look at him, he pressed on. "You didn't drag me along on this trip. I _wanted_ to come with you. And if I had a chance to do it all over again, even after everything that's happened, I wouldn't do anything differently! I'm not sorry."

"I am," she whispered in a suffocated little voice, "There's so much that I wish I could take back."

Tenzin did his best to reassure her, to comfort her, but it was evident that nothing he said was penetrating the haze of self-hatred surrounding her. It was painful to watch her berate herself for things that were not her fault. He knew that she had taken her father's rejection onto her own shoulders, had directed the blame towards herself. She couldn't see that the misstep wasn't hers at all, but his. In Lin's mind, the defect was hers. Qi Xing couldn't love her because _she_ was bad, not because he was simply incapable of love. And it was clear to Tenzin that there was nothing he could say to her that would convince her otherwise.

He remained crouched before her, his heart aching for her…aching with her. It was painful to watch her wage such a valiant effort to keep her emotions in check…almost as if she believed she didn't deserve to cry. Yet the struggle to maintain control was clearly costing her. Her entire body was quaking with exertion from holding back. She was breaking apart in front of his eyes, one tiny piece at a time. She was shutting herself down.

"Please don't punish yourself this way, Lin," he whispered fervently, "It wasn't you. It was _him_. He failed you, not the other way around. You have nothing to be ashamed of and you have every right to be sad and hurt and angry. It's okay if you want to cry. I won't tell."

"I'm not going to cry!" she grated, "He doesn't deserve my tears and I refuse to feel sorry for myself! I made my choices and now I have to live with the consequences. You tried to warn me over and over, but I wouldn't listen to you! I deserve this."

"No. That's not what I meant…"

"I'm not sad," she maintained stubbornly, "I'm furious because I should have been smarter than this! Did I really think that I could show up unannounced and he'd just throw his arms around me and say 'I love you?' How could I be so naïve? I left myself wide open! I practically went out onto that balcony with my heart on a plate and that was _my_ foolishness. _My_ fault! So no, Tenzin, I don't get to cry. I _won't_ cry!"

He grasped hold of her shoulders then and gave her a firm little shake. "Stop it! Stop trying to be strong or brave or whatever it is you think you have to be all the time, Lin! I won't think you're weak! I never have! You're one of the strongest people I know! So it's okay to let go! I'm not going to judge you! Just let yourself feel whatever it is you're feeling…"

For a second he thought she might shove him off. Her expression tightened with anger and frustration. But then, without warning, her scowl collapsed into a sobbing grimace and she pitched herself against him. The action stunned Tenzin into immobility as Lin buried her face into his shoulder and wept.

Feeling helpless, and crying a little himself, Tenzin gathered her close and held her quietly while she sobbed brokenly into his neck. She gripped him hard, hugging him so tightly that it almost felt like she wanted to fold herself into his body and disappear. He had never seen her lose control of her emotions this way. Lin had always been stingy with her tears and reluctant to show vulnerability at all. It was a little disconcerting to see her so emotionally raw but it was also a turning point in their friendship, a moment that was strangely cathartic too.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do now," she wept into his collar, "How am I supposed to go back and face my mother, Tenzin? I was wrong about everything!"

"It's not going to matter," he whispered, "She won't hold it against you."

"It does matter. You know it does." She shrugged out of his arms then and began scrubbing her mottled face free of tears. It was a futile attempt because fresh ones immediately replaced the dried remnants. "I can't face her. I can't go home," she choked out, "I don't have anyone anymore."

"That's not true."

"Yeah, it is. Don't you get it? I was a mistake! My mom and Qi Xing didn't even have anything serious! It didn't mean anything to them so how could _I_ mean anything? She took care of me because she had to…because it was the right thing to do," Lin reasoned gruffly, "But I don't know how she could have really loved me, not when she never really wanted me in the first place."

"Lin, that's crazy. You know your mom loves you! Did he tell you that? Because I don't believe it and neither should you!"

"It's all true and I have to accept it. I'm tired of lying to myself. I just…I feel so worthless, Tenzin. Nothing is like I thought it was," she confessed with a rough swallow, "I don't have anywhere to go now. I don't even know where I belong anymore."

"With me," he replied without compunction or hesitation, "You belong with me and with your mom and with our whole family. I don't care what that man said to you or what he thinks! He's a liar and coward! You are wanted, Lin. You _are_ loved!" He pulled her back against him, holding her as tightly as he could. Tenzin breathed a deep sigh of relief when he felt her arms circle around him. "It's going to be okay."

"How do you know?" she mumbled, "Because it feels like it will never be okay again."

"I know because we're going to get through it together. You and me. Just like we always do."

Lin expelled a shuddering sigh. "I don't know why you bother with me, Tenzin. Don't you ever get tired of all the trouble I cause you?"

"Well, I've tried to shake you off before," he teased her lightly, "but you just won't go away."

She snorted a short, teary laugh before raising her shimmering green eyes to his somber gray ones. "I'm serious," she sighed, "Why do you bother? Why do you want to be my friend?"

"Why do you want to be mine?"

Lin hadn't anticipated that he would counter her question but when he did she didn't have to ponder her answer at all. "Because you're loyal and dependable and you don't put up with my crap. Because you don't hesitate to tell me when I'm wrong, but you're always there to help me up when I fall," she whispered, "Because you're the best friend I've ever had, Tenzin. You're my _only_ friend."

"So you're saying that if you had a bigger pool to choose from I might not be in the running?"

Lin rolled her eyes and nudged him with her shoulder. "No, you idiot. I'm saying thank you for sticking with me."

"I should be thanking you."

"How's that?"

"Because…I have fun when I'm with you and I'm not so scared of the future when I'm with you, Lin. I can forget that I have this impossible task ahead of me to restore my race. Everything isn't so _dire_ when you're around. You make my life better. You make _me_ better. I wish you could see what I see when I look at you."

"What do you see?" she whispered.

"I see…an endless pain the neck." She giggled blunt reply but then elbowed him in the ribs for his audacity. Tenzin grunted in response before he continued. "I see my best friend and worst enemy. I see the girl who makes me crazy and makes me laugh at the same time." He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, garnering the courage needed to say the words that had been hidden away in his heart for months now.

When he opened his eyes again Lin was watching him intently, her eyes soft and luminous…as if she knew exactly what he was about to say next. He lifted his hand to finger her cheek, whisking away the wetness that still clung there. "You really want to know what I see when I look at you, Lin?" he whispered tremulously. Lin nodded slowly. "I see beauty and strength and perseverance. I see one of the best people I've ever known. I see the girl I l—,"

"Lin! Tenzin!" With mortified blushes, they jerked apart, frozen with shock at the sound of their names being called.

"Tenzin! Tenzin, answer me right now! Where are you?"

He jerked to attention, swallowing the remainder of his heartfelt confession as his mother's strident calls echoed in his ears. "Monkey feathers…" he groaned aloud, "This is not going to be pretty." He and Lin shifted to their feet hurriedly just as their parents burst around the hedge maze into full view. For a brief moment, everyone simply froze in place. "Hey there, family…" Tenzin greeted somewhat awkwardly, "…How's it going?"

That inane opening seemed to be the impetus needed to kick-start everyone into motion. One moment there was more than twenty feet separating Tenzin from his parents and the next his mother was jerking him into her arms with a grateful sob and hugging him so hard that Tenzin swore he heard his vertebrae cracking. He barely had time to return her embrace or sob out any apologies in return because she was suddenly thrusting him away and giving him an angry shake.

"What were you thinking, huh?" Katara demanded harshly, "Do you have any idea of the worry and fear you've put your father and me through? I could strangle you right now! Don't you know that you had us worried sick?" She ran her hands over him in a quick once-over, as if needing to discern for herself that he was truly alright. Tenzin started to offer up a tearful explanation and apology but then she was gathering him close again for another fierce hug. He felt his father close in on him from the other side. "Thank goodness you're okay!" she sobbed in tearful relief.

"You scared us to death!" Aang snapped him erect. "You were selfish and irresponsible! Why did you keep running from us? You _knew_ we were looking for you and you took off again anyway!"

Tenzin whimpered guiltily. "I can explain—,"

Katara jerked him forward once more. "Don't you talk back to us, young man!" she scolded him sharply.

"But you just asked me—,"

"Shh! There's no need to make excuses for yourself," his father muttered, grabbing him close again and squeezing him hard, "You're okay now. You're with us and you're okay."

His mother joined in on the embrace as well. She touched Tenzin's face and hands over and over again as if she could hardly believe he was there at all. Katara's tears welled anew. "Oh, my baby! I'm so glad we found you!"

Reeling from his mother and father's dizzying rebounds of emotion as well as his own overwhelming joy at seeing them again, Tenzin was happy to endure his parents' mutual embrace as long as he could. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before he began to feel a bit suffocated. "Mom…Dad, please…" he protested as they virtually squashed him between them, "I'm really glad to see you guys again and everything, but can you back up just a little bit? I really can't breathe…"

While Aang and Katara reluctantly released their grumbling son so he could take in a few necessary gulps of air before they hugged him again, Lin and Toph faced one another for the first time in three weeks. Unlike Tenzin and Katara, they didn't gratefully run into an embrace. In fact, neither of them made an affectionate gesture towards the other at all. Instead, the two remained at a distance from each other…wary, fearful and heartsick.

Sokka observed them both from a distance. Though it was difficult, he forced himself to remain in the background so that Toph and Lin could work through their issues without any intervention on his part. He hated to see them so awkward and stilted with one another but he knew this was an issue the two of them had to fix on their own. For that reason, he took it upon himself to hold back the Beifongs when they would have stepped forward, letting them both know with a firm shake of his head that it was not the right time.

"So…I…uh…guess you're pretty ticked off at me, huh?" Lin opened huskily.

"I'm a bit annoyed," Toph confessed with an eerie sort of calm, "It hasn't been fun times for me these past few weeks. I'd ask what you were thinking but it's clear that you weren't thinking at all."

"Well, if it helps to know, it hasn't been a barrel full of laughs for me either."

"I heard you almost died."

Lin shrugged, hoping to mask her chaotic emotions behind a façade of indifference. "Yeah. That kind of sucked."

"But it never occurred to you after that happened that maybe you were in over your head and it was time to come home?" She almost smiled when Lin shook her head.

"Beifongs don't give up," Lin recited with a measure of pride, "Isn't that what you taught me?"

"I also taught you to wait and listen but you seem to pick and choose what advice you want to follow. Still, nice try with trying to use my words to justify your asinine behavior," Toph commended dryly, "But you probably know that's not going to fly with me."

Lin slumped forward. "Nah. I didn't think it would."

"It's possible that you could have avoided all of this drama if you'd just…I don't know…given me a heads up about this whole thing."

"Doubtful. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have gone for it."

"You're right. I wouldn't have."

They seemed to be at an impasse following that exchange. Lin contemplated the shimmering tips of her slippers with unexplained fascination. Toph flexed her bare toes in the dirt. Lin twirled a stray lock of her hair. Toph coughed. The two didn't speak again for what seemed like an inordinate length of time before Lin finally asked in a small, trembling voice, "Why did you lie to me all these years, Mom?"

Toph had been expecting the question, had been practicing her response to it for weeks now. And yet, being asked in reality was something altogether different from what she had imagined. She felt like she had been punched in the chest. For one terrifying second, she couldn't even breathe. When she finally did speak, Toph's words were garbled and hollow.

"If you had asked me that a few weeks ago, I would have told you that it wasn't any of your business," she confessed, "But that would have been a copout."

Lin's throat bobbed spasmodically with unshed tears. "So then _why_ did you do it?"

"I thought I was protecting you. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Well, it wasn't the right thing."

"You don't think so?" Toph challenged softly, "You think you have all the answers now? Did turning 12 years old suddenly transform you into some all-knowing guru? Happy belated birthday, by the way."

"Thanks," Lin returned without much enthusiasm.

"So tell me," Toph pressed when she failed to follow up that mumbled reply, "Are you wiser for this experience? Did you like what you found here, Lin?"

Lin reacted to the sharp rebuke as if she'd been slapped. "At least it was the truth!" she flung back in a flash of anger, "At least he didn't pretend with me!"

"Pretend? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please Mom! Don't lie to me anymore!" Lin cried, "He told me everything! I know the truth now so be real with me for once!"

"You mean the truth according to Qi Xing?" Toph snorted scornfully, "That's what you're basing all this scorn and righteous indignation on? Oh well, this is going to be good!"

Despite Toph's sardonic retort and the evident implication that she was wrong in her assumptions, Lin held her ground. "I know I was a mistake! You didn't really want me! How could you when you never wanted to be a mother?" she cried in accusation, "You were stuck with me!"

Toph's exasperation was immediately replaced with seething rage at Qi Xing and bitter remorse for her daughter. "Is what he told you?"

Lin drew herself up tall and resolutely bit back her hiccupping sobs. "He said what you had together was nothing special. It was a fling. He said that it didn't mean anything to either of you. I figured out the rest on my own. Neither of you wanted to be parents, but you were the one who had to deal with me while he ran away."

"It's not that simple, Lin."

"I think it is!" Lin glanced away with a stubborn grimace. "I wish you'd never had me at all!"

Because she could feel pain vibrating in practically every word Lin said, Toph went to kneel before her then and tenderly framed her daughter's face with her hands. "Don't say that!" she hissed, "Don't you ever, ever say that again, Lin!"

"Why? It's true!"

"No, it isn't!" In contrast with her harsh denial, however, Toph skimmed her fingers over her daughter's stony features, whisking away the tears she found there and softening Lin's expression with her surprisingly gentle touch. "Listen to me," she urged Lin softly, "it was a fling to _him_, but that's not what it was to me. I wanted more with him. I thought we would be more, but it soon became clear that Qi Xing and I didn't want the same things.

"But you're right about what you said," she went on softly, "I wasn't prepared to be a mother and I wasn't prepared for the responsibility of taking care of you. I know I've made mistakes because of that. I know I haven't always been right and maybe I'm not the most ideal mother…but I have _never_ felt stuck with you, Lin. You are one of the best things to ever happen to me and I'm glad you're with me."

Suddenly, as Toph spoke, she realized the words didn't only apply to her. They applied to her parents as well. Lao and Poppy Beifong had made mistakes with her as well. They weren't always right or ideal and they were far from perfect…but they loved her. They had _always_ loved her. Toph was only just beginning to recognize that truth and how love for her had driven her parents' actions all these years.

As a result of that profound understanding, Toph's next statement wasn't only directed to her heartbroken daughter but also to her estranged parents as well. "I'm glad we're a family. We're not perfect. We might not always understand each other and sometimes I might do things to stifle you and make you angry, but _I love you_ and everything I do is _because_ I love you. We are connected for life…and we always will be."

The declaration was like a soothing balm to Lin's broken soul. She didn't know how much she needed to hear it until that precise moment. With that, the last vestiges of Lin's bravado crumbled completely. She flung herself into her mother's waiting arms with a whimpering cry. "I'm sorry, Mom…" she wept, "I shouldn't have run away and worried you like I did! I'm so, so sorry!"

"It's okay," Toph whispered, cradling her closer, her own tears falling unchecked, "It's in the past now. Everything is okay now. We're okay, Lin."

Lin reared back to regard Toph then, in that moment appearing every inch the little girl that she was. "Can we please go home now?" she pleaded in a small tone, "I want to go home."

Toph leaned forward to blindly kiss away her daughter's spilling tears. "Yes, sweetheart. We can go home."

It proved to be an emotional night for everyone and the family reunions were only the beginning.

Following Toph and Lin's sobbing reconciliation, Tenzin tearfully confessed shortly thereafter that he had "lost" Oogi. However, his parents quickly soothed his angst over that by informing him that his beloved sky bison was in their care and nearby. After shedding more tears, only this time born from relief and gratitude, Tenzin and Lin were allowed to reunite with Oogi. Their parents allowed them both ample time to exchange excited cuddles and great slobbery licks with the shaggy beast before Sokka treated Tenzin and Lin to a stern lecture on responsibility and their parents handed down sentences of punishment for the stunt they pulled.

When all that was done, however, it was time to deal with the Beifongs, who had until they moment respectfully hung back while Toph handled her family issues. However, when that was done, Toph finally reconciled with her mother and father after ten, bitter years of silence. That very night Lin was formally introduced to her grandparents. And after many hugs and kisses and tearful murmurs of regret, Lin had gone to Sokka with some tearful regrets of her own.

She thanked him solemnly for all the ways he had supported her and for being the father that she had never appreciated. Then she did something that none of them had expected, particularly Toph and Sokka. She'd called Sokka "Dad" for the first time ever but, they suspected, not for the last. That set off yet another round of weeping, with the majority of the tears surprisingly coming from Sokka and Toph.

Much later that evening, after everyone had finally gone to bed, Aang and Katara retired to their guest room together after bidding their exhausted son goodnight. Now in the privacy of their room they quietly reflected on the past few weeks and the emotional events of the night. While Katara stepped behind the dressing screen to discreetly change into her nightgown, Aang stripped down to his underwear and sprawled back onto the bed with a heavy sigh of relief.

"Good grief," he groaned, "I'm so glad that's over."

After flinging her belt over the top of the dressing screen and then following it with her leggings, Katara peeked around the edge of the screen at Aang. "You sound exhausted, Avatar."

He lifted his head to toss her a wry glance. "That's because I am exhausted. _Your son_ wore me out." Katara reacted to the last of that statement with a narrowed glare. Aang chuckled. "Yeah, it's not so fun when the moccasin is on the other foot, is it?"

"I'll give you a moccasin alright," Katara grumbled good-naturedly, disappearing back behind the screen. However, a few seconds later she said, "I don't blame you for being tired though. It's been a crazy almost month, hasn't it? Who knew when I read that note that Tenzin left for us that things would get so convoluted afterwards?"

Aang yawned. "It all worked out in the end though."

"Yes, it did," Katara sighed as she resumed undressing, "I'm glad Toph was finally able to make peace with her parents. I think this will be a good thing for her and Lin both. They have a lot of issues to work out between them and, in a way, those issues began with Toph's parents. They all need to heal together. Toph has needed her parents all this time whether she wanted to admit it or not."

"I think so too," Aang agreed drowsily, "And, on a further positive note, I think Tenzin has definitely learned his lesson. We shouldn't have to worry about him sneaking off like this ever again."

"I think grounding him for the next six months probably had a lot to do with it."

The corners of Aang's mouth turned up in an amused smile. "I'm sure it does."

"I cannot tell you what a relief it is to know that he's down the hall and safely tucked in bed though."

"I know what you mean… But I _do_ still feel a little antsy about it. I keep on having to suppress the impulse to pop into his room to make sure he's still there."

Katara bounced another glance around the screen at him. "Why pop in at all? Just do your sonic boom vision thing that Toph taught you."

Aang rolled his eyes at her. "It's not my 'sonic boom vision thing,'" he murmured dryly, "There's a way cooler name for it, you know."

"A thousand pardons, my lord Avatar. Will you please use your sonar-vibration sensory perception to check on our dear son?" she amended cheekily.

"Yes, Master."

Not even bothering to lift himself from the bed or even shift his position at all other than to stack his hands behind his head, Aang dutifully closed his eyes. He lifted one foot and then planted it firmly to the ground, sending out a reverberating ring of vibrations that provided a very clear picture for him of what was taking place in nearly every bedroom of their wing. When it was over, he opened his eyes and tipped a frowning glance over at an expectant Katara.

"Well?" she prompted impatiently, "Is he still in bed?"

"Yes. He's in bed," Aang confirmed, "You can relax. So is Lin for that matter. You might also be interested in to know that Toph is with her parents in their room. And as for Sokka…let's just say that some things should remain unknown between friends." At his revolted expression, Katara yelped in horrified laughter as Aang added dryly, "I'm thinking that he misses Suki a lot."

His wife grimaced with a repulsed shudder. "Ugh, Aang! I did _not_ need that mental picture!"

"You're telling me," he grumbled, "I'm the one who had to _see_ it! There's no filter with that kind of sight, you know! I might never recover." He started to lay his head back down against the bed when Katara disappeared back behind the screen muttering something under her breath about him being "a big fat baby." Aang opened his mouth to make a smart retort to that when something suddenly occurred to him.

"Hey…since when are you so modest about taking off your clothes?" he asked her, "What's with getting undressed behind the screen anyway? Because you do realize that I've seen you naked like ten million times, don't you, Katara?"

She poked out her head to level him with a sour look. "Well excuse me for attempting to maintain a little mystery in our relationship, Aang!"

"Oh sorry," he grunted, duly chastened, "Didn't mean to step on your toes." He settled back down and closed his eyes once more. "Carry on then."

After a few moments, Katara finally fell still behind the screen. "So did you notice how Tenzin and Lin were blushing when we found them in the garden earlier?" she asked a little too casually.

The thoughtful concern in her tone kept Aang from completely falling asleep. "I think we startled them."

"Maybe…" Katara considered quietly, "…but what if it was more than that?"

Aang furrowed his brow. "More like what?"

Katara directed a meaningful glance at him from around the edge of the screen. "You know what I mean," she replied darkly, "Remember what we discussed before Lin and Tenzin disappeared together. Well, they've been traveling alone for the past three weeks with no adult supervision to speak of, Aang!"

He swung up onto his elbows to regard her. "So what if they have? We did the same thing and we did okay. Besides, they're twelve, Katara!"

"So says the boy who kissed me _twice_ when _he_ was twelve, and once after I told him I was confused! You can't act like the possibility is ridiculous!"

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

Katara ignored his woebegone mumble. "I think it's time we sat Tenzin down and had 'the talk' with him. I know we've already covered the basics with him about the changes in his body and how babies are made, but those lessons need to be reinforced. We need to make it more personal for him."

"And by 'we' what you really mean is _me_, don't you?" Aang replied somewhat crossly.

"Well, you _are_ his father, Aang," she emphasized, "It should be you. You know all the…um, you know…body mechanics and such!"

"So do you!" he retorted.

"But it's _your_ equipment…you handle it all the time," Katara insisted.

He smirked at her in leering amusement. "So do you."

A furious blush lit Katara's cheeks. She growled at him, her blue eyes narrowed in a warning glare. "You're such a pervert." Aang was still chuckling over her response as she continued on with her rant. "Besides, you don't want the same thing that happened with Bumi to happen again, do you? By the time you finally got around to talking to him about it we already had irate fathers beating down our door. Let's not go there again, shall we?"

Aang flopped back into the mattress and groaned in remembered consternation. "Fine," he conceded in grumbling acquiesce, "I'll talk to him when we get back to Republic City. Are you happy now?"

Katara disappeared back behind the screen with a satisfied smile. "Thank you, Aang. I'm glad that's settled. Tomorrow we'll head home and then we can finally put this whole nightmare behind us. Everything will be normal again. It feels like forever since we've had that."

The wistful relief in her tone helped to soothe Aang's lingering exasperation. His mouth turned in a faint smile. "It will be good to get back into a routine."

"I can't wait to get back home."

"I can't either. But being back in Republic City won't be nearly enough for me," Aang mumbled wearily as he began to drift again, "I'm going to need at least a full week of sleep to recover from all this nonstop traveling. I'm in dire need of some _real_ relaxation after all of these shenanigans."

"This may surprise you, sweetie, but there are _other_ ways to relax besides sleeping."

He cracked open one sleepy eye and lifted his head at the quiet challenge he heard in her tone. He frowned. "Oh yeah? Tell take to my aching body."

"I could help with that," Katara offered coyly.

Aang opened both eyes then, his interest instantly piqued because he suspected that she was trying to make amends for strong-arming him earlier. "How's that?"

"Do you remember what we talked about before when we were back at Kuei's palace?"

"Which time? We've been back and forth, you know."

"The last time."

He could practically hear the eye roll in her tone and it made him laugh. Aang gamely tried to remember any conversation they may have had about relaxation during their last stay in Ba Sing Se but he could recall little more than her drunken rambling that night. "No, sorry. I don't remember. What did we talk about? Are you offering me a healing session right now, Katara, because, if you are, I could definitely go for that…?"

"Not exactly. But what I do have in mind does involve _my_ hands on _your_ body…water is very optional though." Just then, Katara stepped out from behind the dressing screen, but what was most notable to Aang was the fact that she wasn't wearing a nightgown. In fact, she wasn't wearing much of anything at all except her loosened hair and one provocatively seductive expression.

Aang rose up onto his elbows once again and swallowed hard, his eyes traveling the length of her voluptuous curves in avid perusal. "Um…hello there," he croaked appreciatively. When he lifted his gaze back to her face Katara was smiling a serenely beautiful smile. She crooked her finger at him, beckoning him over.

"So…" she drawled with some measure of amusement, "…you still think sleeping is the best way for you to relax?"

Aang shook his head slowly, his exhaustion quickly forgotten as he rolled from the bed with a crooked smile. "I've never been afraid to admit when I'm wrong, Katara," he teased, quickly closing the distance between them, "and I was very, very wrong." He pulled her flush against him and swept his hands along the warm expanse of her bare back, angling her back into the wall behind them as he did. "I'm also very open to any alternatives you might want to suggest, my beautiful wife."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled into his kiss. "Yeah…somehow that's what I thought _you'd_ say."

**~The End~**


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